LABOUR TD WELCOMES ONGOING DUBLIN DRAINAGE WORK BUT REMAINS OPPOSED TO CLONSHAUGH SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT

Posted on July 26, 2012 3:39 PM   |   Permanent Link   

Dublin North East Labour TD, Seán Kenny today welcomed the announcement that the Greater Dublin Drainage project is carrying out dye trace and drogue tracking surveys in Irish Sea off North Dublin.

"Fingal County Council is undertaking dye trace and drogue tracking surveys in the Irish Sea off the coast of North Dublin, to monitor the currents and directions of sea flows."

"The research/information gathering is part of the robust studies being carried out on proposed sites for the new regional wastewater treatment works identified in earlier this year. One of these areas is Clonshaugh, where I have previously expressed my strong opposition with regard to the possibility of locating the North Dublin Sewage Treatment Plant."

"I welcome ongoing studies into the locations for the treatment plant, as I believe it will strengthen the case that Clonshaugh is quite simply not an appropriate location for the plant. There are more than 2500 residential buildings within 0.5 - 1.0 km of the Clonshaugh boundary site, including Clonshaugh, Priorswood, and Darndale housing estates as well as the Burnell Court apartment development at the Northern Cross. Building a sewage treatment plant on the doorstep of these estates would be unacceptable. It must be noted that the local authority making the decision is Fingal County Council, while the residents affected by a decision in favour of Clonshaugh live in the Dublin City Council area."

"The proposal to route the outfall from the Clonshaugh site to the sea north of Ireland's Eye through a pipeline under Baldoyle Estuary is of grave concern from an environmental viewpoint. It is believed that this will be strongly opposed by
the National Parks & Wildlife Service. On the other side of Baldoyle Estuary the pipeline would go through the Portmarnock Dunes and the popular Portmarnock Velvet Strand Blue Flag Beach."

"I will be conveying my opposition to the proposed Clonshaugh Sewage Treatment site to the Fingal County Manager."