A PROTEST MARCH  is to take place in Limerick next month after controversial plans by Irish Cement Limited to burn alternative fuels, including used tyres, were given the green light by the EPA, subject to conditions and appeal process.

There was widespread shock when residents, politicians, and groups opposed to the company’s licence application, received confirmation that the Environmental Protection Agency were allowing the €10m project proceed, subject to a 28-day appeal process.

Claire Keating, a local resident, and spokeswoman with Limerick Against Pollution (LAP),  said she was “shocked” and “extremely disappointed” the decision.

Keating said “4,400 objections” were lodged against the plans.

We will be pursuing lots of avenues to stop this. We definitely will be launching an appeal, and we plan on requesting an oral hearing. We are also seeking legal advice, and we have been onto MEPS in Europe too.

“A protest march is planned to take place at City Hall (Limerick) on the 5th of October. We are not going to give up,” Keating explained.

The deadline for objections to be submitted against Irish Cement’s proposal is 15 October.

Fianna Fáil Councillor James Collins, said it was a “hugely disappointing decision” which he claimed, “will damage public health and Limerick’s reputation as a clean, green city”.

Collins said the area where the waste will be burned is “adjacent to a public park, four schools”.

‘A toxic decision’

The EPA’s “Proposed Determination” on Irish Cement’s application “provides for the acceptance of non-hazardous waste materials to be used as alternative fuels and raw materials, up to a maximum of 90,000 tonnes per annum”.

The EPA said there were “more than 100 individual conditions relating to the environmental management, operation, control and monitoring of the installation”.

It added it was “satisfied that the emissions from the installation, when operated in accordance with the conditions of the proposed licence, will meet all required environmental protection standards and will not endanger human health or harm the environment in the vicinity of the installation or over a wider area”.

Sinn Fein TD, Maurice Quinlivan said he was “appalled”, and added, “this is a toxic decision by the Environmental Protection Agency”.

Welcoming the EPA’s decision, a spokesman for Irish Cement the company “will study the details of the proposed licence before making any further comment”.

The EPA’s decision follows a decision in April 2018, by An Bord Pleanala to grant permission for the replacement of fossil fuels at Irish Cement’s production plants in Limerick and at Platin, Co Meath, which were both opposed by environmental groups.

Limerick City and County Council had initially granted the company permission to go ahead with its plans.

Last December Irish Cement pleaded guilty before Limerick District Court in a Prosecutions brought by the EPA, to breaching the terms of its industrial emissions licence at its Limerick plant and received a €4,000 fine.

The court heard a thick “glue-like” dust leaked from its production plant, causing damage to nearby homes, cars and gardens.

At the time, Irish Cement had three previous convictions for similar breaches of its industrial licence, including two in July, 2018 and one in 2007.