COUNCILLORS have got around the legal difficulties in proposing a motion rejecting the proposal for a toxic ash dump at the Naul by writing to the county manager on the issue.

A letter to the county manager drafted by the Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Ciaran Byrne and signed by 16 councillors, called on the manager to 'reject and oppose any proposal to locate a toxic and hazardous site and treatment facility in Fingal'.

The letter followed a failed attempt to force the manager to reject the proposal by way of a council motion that was deemed 'ultra vires' and 'unlawful'.

Cllr Ciaran Byrne had put forward a motion calling on the manager to oppose the proposal but he withdrew the motion after it was deemed ultra vires.

Councillors were informed that if the motion was adopted it would restrain the council from carrying out its statutory obligations and would be unlawful. Furthermore it stated that the motion was 'premature'.

Instead Cllr Byrne drafted a letter, which he asked all councillors to sign, outlining opposition to the proposal from Murphy Environment Hollywood Ltd (MEHL) to build the facility. MEHL announced last month its intention to seek planning permission to develop Ireland's first national facility for the treatment of hazardous ash at their existing inert landfill in Naul

They're to seek a licence amendment to include the acceptance of n o n - b i o d e g ra d a b l e wastes, both hazardous and non-hazardous and in particular ash from incineration. The company insisted there will be no chance of pollution should permission be granted. The facility is expected to create more than 50 construction jobs and take 12 months to complete, with additional 10 direct posts once operational.

The 2008-2012 National Hazardous Waste Plan recommends that at least one hazardous waste landfill be developed in Ireland with an available capacity of at least 25,000 tonnes per annum.

The plan is a statutory plan adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Waste Management Acts 1996-2009.