Poolbeg incinerator collapse stinks!

Michael McDowell praised the collapse or alleged collapse of the Poolbeg incinerator project as "a victory for local government".

Ruairi Quinn points out that "Ministers Cullen and Roche decided to ignore the wishes of City Councillors from all parties and even removed their powers to block the proposal. Minister Michael McDowell, as a member of Cabinet, agreed to that hindering of local democracy."

Deputy Quinn goes on "It appears most unusual that Minister McDowell was informed of the abandoning of this project before anyone else, and saw fit to leak the information to a newspaper. This matter does not fall into Minister McDowell's portfolio, and it is important that we verify that there was no improper use of the information about the cancellation of the project by anyone at the Department of the Environment and Local Government. "

It is suspicously convenient that the extremely unpopular project, in McDowell's constituency, is shelved just months before the election. What stinks more is Michael McDowell's two faces on the issue of local government powers and what smells more is his version of the story.

Has the incinerator project collapsed? Not according to Dublin City Council which is behind the project despite the objections of its councillors.

Dublin City Council has issued a statement insisting that that the incinerator was still on track and the statutory processes, including the planning application by Dublin City Council to An Bord Pleanála and the application to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr McDowell has said that the company behind the plan has been bought and the new owner has told the council it is no longer interested in pursuing the project.

Dublin City Council says the company's new owner simply wishes to make changes to the commercial arrangements of the project.

So McDowell has a lot of questions to answer on this one.

1. How did he know before the city councillors what was going on?
2. How is the change of a company's plans a "victory for local government"?
3. Why does his story not match that of the council?
4. Is he just trying to muddy the waters on this controversial issue until he gets the election out of the way?

Answers please Minister!