De Burca meets Wicklow officials to discuss Bray recycling centre

The Green Party councillor has declared that achieving a recycling centre for the town is one of the main objectives of her year as Chairperson of Bray Town Council. She has expressed her disappointment with the slow progress made by Wicklow County Council to date in finding a suitable site for a recycling centre in Bray.

"Unfortunately the legislation says that Wicklow County Council has the legal responsibility for establishing a recycling centre for Bray" she says. "It is very difficult as a member of Bray Town Council to be told that you must wait for another council to find a suitable site for a recycling centre for the town".

De Burca says that one of her first acts as a Chairperson of Bray Town Council was to ask for an official report from Wicklow County Council on progress made with finding a site to date. "The report was full of contradictions" she says. "It said that the search for a site has been going on for two years now and that it may take another two years before one is found. It talked about the possibility of the private sector running the recycling centre and worst of all, there was no signature on the report so that it was impossible to hold any official accountable for what was said within it".

The Green Party councillor has also requested a meeting with the Chairperson of Wicklow County Council, Andrew Doyle, and the Director of Environmental Services, Michael Nicholson. "While I asked for this meeting in late June, I was told that I would have to wait until September for the meeting to happen" says de Burca. "I don’t believe there is enough of a sense of urgency on the part of Wicklow County Council about finding a site for a recycling centre in Bray".

De Burca requested an unofficial meeting with Mr Andrew Lawless of the Environment Section of Wicklow County Council and met with him recently to discuss progress made to date. "I gave him a list of sites that I and my Green Party colleagues on Bray Town Council felt were suitable for a recycling centre in the town" she says. "He briefed me on sites examined to date and assured me that Wicklow County Council was putting all its efforts into finding a site in Bray. He did admit that the likelihood of finding a permanent recycling centre for Bray immediately was not strong and that we were probably looking at leasing a centre for a two year period, and in the meantime finding a suitable permanent site that would be ready and fully developed in two years time".

The Green Party councillor states that she intends to keep the pressure up on Wicklow County Council regarding the recycling centre and that she will invite Wicklow officials to address a Bray Town Council meeting in September or October to update councillors on what has been achieved by that stage.

For further information please contact:
Deirdre de Burca on 086-806 1450; email: deburca@wicklowgreens.org