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30 July 2004

PRESS RELEASE

Keep Dun Laoghaire recycling site open until new site ready say the Greens

The Green Party said today that closing the Iceland recycling site at George's Place in Dún Laoghaire is a mistake without having provided a temporary site for people to use until the Ballyogan site opens in the autumn.

Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council plans to close the George's Place recycling depot tomorrow leaving people with no choice but to travel to Ringsend to recycle their goods.

Green Party Dun Laoghaire TD Ciarán Cuffe said today that, “It is outrageous that Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Council is closing such a valuable recycling site for the community with no temporary site in place to facilitate users. Until the Ballyogan Depot opens in the autumn the nearest major recycling facility is in Ringsend. It is crazy that people that who have got into the habit of recycling will be denied that opportunity for many months.”

“In today's world we should be encouraging people to recycle rather than depicting it as a cumbersome ordeal and this is what it will become for existing users of such facilities. Obviously the Council did not think this through, as they have not created a stopgap to accommodate the closure of the George’s Place depot and the opening of the Ballyogan site in the autumn.”

“I have written to the County Manager, Derek Brady, on behalf of the people asking him to consider the Council yard across from the Iceland site as a temporary site until the Ballogan site is ready. It is almost a year since the decision was made to sell the George's Place recycling site and it is disappointing that the Council didn't act sooner to ensure continued provision of a vital and much used recycling service to the community.”

Ciarán Cuffe is a TD for the Dún Laoghaire Dáil Constituency. Ciarán can be contacted at Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 or 96 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire Tel. 284 6060 or 618 3082, Fax 618 4341, Email Ciaran CiaranCuffe.com, or Text Ciaran on 087 265 2075.