Donabate-Portrane Sewage Plant

Spectator#1

I was at a protest in Donabate earlier today. Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, was visiting to meet with local representatives regarding the opposition to the proposal of installing a massive sewage plant in the area to deal with a disproportionate amount of the east coast's waste, roughly (800,000 to 1,000,000).

It seems to have been all for show really, he seems to have been on some kind of a photo-op and wasn't expecting a crowd there to disrupt it. There were even be a few supporters there equipped with their kid's shoulders for him to place his hand on in a caring manner while he talked.

It was kind of funny actually. The whole thing was ruined for them by a large group of irate residents from the area following him around and firing questions at him. I heard somebody shout "sh!t on me Dicky!" quite loudly at him (his constituency is one of the ones to be served by the plant). He got out of there quite quickly but RTE got a good bit of footage. It was on the RTE news tonight and it cast a rather bad light on the way FF have handled the whole thing.

They keep trying to use it as an election carrot but that's not effective because they're in a position to do something about it right now and they haven't. I really do think that they've damaged their voting clout in North Co. Dublin as a result.

Here's a link to the story anyway, if you're interested!

http://www.rte.ie/news/9news/

wow sierra

Warning - the following post is likely to offend!!! Apologies in advance.

We need sewage treatment plants. They have to go somewhere. This plant is going to go ahead. **** happens and Government and County Councils are the poor idiots who have to deal with the **** (both literal and metaphorical!!)

The above is what Dick Roche would like to say when he meets the local action group. Of course he won't say that. I'm sure he will take all the locals views into account, have meaningful dialogue, try to sell the benifits of clean seas/beaches and serviced land so people can buy houses etc. He will outline the study of various sites which was done before this one was picked. He will try to explain the modern design which will have minimal impact on the local environment etc etc etc.

I'm sure you have heard the new version of NIMBY(Not in my back yard) it is BANANA (Build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone)

Don't get me wrong I'm sure ye have valid worries - but they are similar worries to the ones which hold up roads, dumps, football pitches, pubs, drug treatment centres, travellers and all local authority housing, jails etc etc etc

If you can design a society where the above items are not required fine - the society I live in does need them and they have to go somewhere.

End of Rant!

Fingleberries

Ah yes, all very valid points. Certain parts of the infrastructure are required - high volume of building means that increased water treatment facilities are required.

But if you look at the percentage of projects that are, shall we say, less savoury (Sewerage (to serve large parts of Dublin), Super Dumps (to serve all dublin), Super Prisons (to replace Mountjoy), etc.) there seem to be more of them going into the Fingal area than other areas of the county, such as Dun Laoighre / Rathdown.

I think it's this fact combined with the electoral promise of Mr. Roche or the local FF / PD candidate to do something about this if they are re-elected. They have been in power for the last 8-10 years and have not done anything about it, why would they possibly change their heart just if they get re-elected?

Spectator#1

wow sierra wrote:

Warning - the following post is likely to offend!!! Apologies in advance.

No need to apologise, you make a very valid point. The only problem is, you're presuming that I am in fact saying "not in my back yard" or nowhere near me"

As fingleberry already pointed out, there have been an inordinately large amount of 'unsavoury' projects set in motion over the last few years in the fingal area compared to the rest of the county.

I live in Portrane, which is a beautiful, rural area, not too far away from the city centre to make it awkward for me to travel to college. Across the estuary from where I live is a massive dump. Down the road from my house is a newly installed juvenile detention centre.

This centre, we were promised by the local politicians, would be secure and was for the rehabilitation of "poor disadvantaged children". In reality the kids in it are completely (and I mean completely) free to roam the area as they see fit with no supervision. This is despite the fact that the perimeter fencing cost upwards of a million. The guards (closes station: Swords) have to be called every time they fail to return in time for their curfew. It's, quite literally, a holiday home for aggressive and unpleasant people in an area with no Garda station.

St. Ita's hospital, which is a stunning red brick complex of buildings in a densely wooded and scenic area around the south-east coastline of the peninsula, is to be the site of a large part of the sewage plant. In Britain, a hospital built with the same plans was closed down a good while ago, what did they do with it? They turned it into a massive five star hotel, the Sunday Times magazine ran a whole issue on it a couple of years ago. What are we going to do? Build a sewage treatment plant on it, then knock down the bit that was protected because it's useless now because of the plant and build more housing estates. Ridiculous.

In Donabate, through which I have to travel on my way out, the developers have been allowed to build whole estates of council housing out on their own, in contravention of the stipulation that council housing be integrated into standard housing developments to avoid the pressure cooker effect that large council estates with very poor amenities can suffer from.

I have no problem with council housing, but for such a small community, with virtually no amenities and not even a garda office, we have a large proportion of such developments.

If our argument ended there, you might get away with accusing us of NIMBYism, but it doesn't. Here are a few more reasons for opposing this sewage plant:

1. The Donabate-Portrane peninsula has a population of, roughly, 10,000 or so persons. The proposed sewage plant is to serve approximately 800,000 people (with a view to raising it to 1,000,000), from the surrounding east coast (and inland) of Ireland.

If there was an absolute necessity for a sewage treatment plant of that size and scale, then you could easily accuse the ten thousand or so people living in Donabate-Portrane of NIMBYism, but there isn't a necessity at all.

This is one of the main arguments of FAIRSHARE, a group set up within the community to lobby the local and national government on the issue of the treatment plant. FAIRSHARE, with a large amount of support in the area (as far as I can see anyway) argue that a sewage treatment plant of that size is just an attempt to dump on one community what could easily be shared by a large group of communities in a fairer way. Yes, it might be expensive, but it would be easier to run and it would be more democratic, which, supposedly is a value we in Ireland hold dear.

So, in short, yes, you're right: these things are necessary, but not in this scale. Would you agree?

2. The plans and reports that you referred to, whereby this area was chosen as the site for a massive plant were all very remiss in their studies. They ignored some very crucial information. I can give you details if you like.

This does not inspire confidence in our local authority. Especially when they stonewall, accuse, and even conceal information from their constituents in an attempt to sneak the thing through. The only reason we found out about this is because one councillor found out about it and leaked it out because he lives in the area.

Not only that, but the Ringsend people were promised that the design of the one they were to get would ensure no smells and clean water. That plant has never, ever worked to the specifications they said it would. They lied to them. Once again, confidence is not easy to bestow in these kind of situations.

If you can design a society where the above items are not required fine - the society I live in does need them and they have to go somewhere.

That's a facetious point to make. You're not arguing with a ten year old here. Of course we recognise that these things need to go somewhere, but not in this scale and not through lies, rhetoric, empty promises and reports with gaping holes.

foxybrowne

This is a highly significant report which Fingal County Council must take on board. Congratulations to Fairshare on a vital peice of work. http://www.fairshare.ie/
===============================================
Proposed Portrane sewage works not needed - report
Liam Reid, Environment correspondent

The need for a proposed massive sewage treatment facility for the Dublin region has been questioned in a new report by consultant engineers.

The report has also highlighted concerns that despite the existence of a sewage treatment facility for Dublin at Ringsend, raw sewage is leaking into water sources in the region because of overflows and the poor state of the city's sewers in some places.

Written by English-based Pick Everard engineering consultants, the report claims that if the proposed facility is constructed at Portrane, it would lead to vast quantities of rainwater being treated needlessly.

It states that millions of litres of clean rainwater are already being processed by the sewage treatment facility in Dublin's Ringsend facility, which was completed just five years ago.

Commissioned by a group campaigning against the proposed facility for the Portrane area in Dublin, the report states that the Ringsend plant should have the capacity to deal with 90 per cent of sewage from the greater Dublin area if the rainwater was removed from the system.

The report reviewed the Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study, which recommended the construction of a new sewage treatment facility near Portrane of a similar size to that in Ringsend to deal with sewage from the greater Dublin area, including parts of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow.

The new report states that there is a fundamental question about the need for such a facility.

It states: "If the recommendations in the Greater Dublin Strategic Drainage Study are adopted it will result in the construction of a new waste-water treatment plant, the capacity of which will effectively equal the volume of ground and surface water entering the sewerage system."

It adds that drains which deal with storm or rain water have been incorrectly linked into foul water sewers carrying water to the treatment facility.This storm water should not require sewage treatment and should be able to flow directly into rivers or lakes.

It has also raised concerns about the seepage of untreated sewage into the river Liffey and other water sources in the Dublin region due to drainage overflows, and states that this is highlighted in the drainage study carried out by the Dublin local authorities.

This in turn has "the potential to pollute drinking water supplies taken from these aquifers, posing risks to health".

According to the new report, the Dublin local authorities should avoid the proposed Portrane plant and should instead focus investment on repairing and replacing the drainage network to address both the health risk and the issue of rainwater flowing into the foul drainage system.

Yesterday, Fairshare, the local group that commissioned the Pick Everard report and which is campaigning against the Portrane facility, said the proposed facility and the associated sewerage system, which could cost up to €1 billion, would represent a waste of public money.

Neil Dempsey of Fairshare described the report as highly significant. "In other words, half of what is going into Ringsend to be treated every day is rain or storm water," he said. "We risk making the same mistake again with Portrane."

Fingal County Council, which is responsible for the project, has consistently stated that no decision has been made to construct the proposed Portrane facility.

© 2007 The Irish Times

foxybrowne

Good news for the community - the Labour Party has come out totally against the plans, although in fairness, they always were. Due to Fairshare's unending campaign the political parties are under increasingly immense pressure to dump this crazy plan!

=========================================================================

STATEMENT BY BRENDAN RYAN
Labour Party Candidate for Dublin North
10 May, 2007

PORTRANE WASTE TREATMENT PLANT THE WRONG OPTION - RYAN

Brendan Ryan warmly welcomes the statement made by Eamon Gilmore, T.D in relation to the proposed Regional Waste Treatment Plant in Portrane.

Eamon Gilmore, T.D Labour Party Spokesperson on Environment has confirmed that the Labour Party are opposed to the proposed massive Regional Waste Treatment Plant in Portrane.

In a written statement he stated "I support the stance taken by Brendan Ryan, Labour Party Candidate in Dublin North, in opposing the proposed massive Regional Waste Treatment Plant in Portrane. In Government, Labour will reconsider the existing strategy for the treatment of waste water and sewage in the Greater Dublin Area.

The Labour Party favours smaller and more technologically advanced treatment facilities spread throughout the region, rather than the proposal for Portrane. Labour fully understands concerns of the people of Donabate and Portrane on this issue."

Are you aware?

Are you aware that if it were not for the vigilance of Cllr Gerry McGuire, his Labour Party Colleagues and Sean Ryan T.D in particular, the proposed Regional Sewage Plant could well have been approved by Fingal County Council in 2005.

This proposal was hidden away in a report entitled "Water Services Assessment of Needs 2005 - 2012" which was on the agenda for approval at a County Council meeting. Sean Ryan T.D brought this to the attention of the local community and arising from this Fairshare was formed.

Brendan Ryan, who was born and reared in Portrane with strong family ties in the area, has confirmed that if elected he will ensure that the Labour Party commitments are honoured in full. Brendan also stated that he will continue to support the people of Portrane and Donabate through the Fairshare/Parish Council Campaign.

ENDS - For more information contact Brendan at 086 821 6176

www.labour.ie/brendanryan
www.brendan-ryan.ie

sceiri

And here we go again the Portrane-Donabate plant is re-born in Fingal - ... Fingal CC will present the location for the GDR regional sewage plant on Monday 10th June 2013 - current 3 shortlisted sites; Ballyboughall, Lusk and Clonshagh. The plant has a proposed 2040 capacity of 700,000 PE and will have a sludge hub co-located with it and will need a correspondingly large marine outfall at either Loughshinny or Baldoyle/Portmarnock. Given that the report will be presented on Monday - a fair few people know already what is in it ... the rest of us have to wait..