Green Party councillor Niall ó Brolcháin has expressed his disappointment at the temporary closure of the composting facility at Carrowbrowne, saying it should provide a wake-up call for officials who have become complacent about recycling in the city.

Cllr ó Brolcháin said the closure highlighted the loss of momentum in relation to recycling in recent times and called for every effort to be made to facilitate its speedy re-opening of the facility, which has been instrumental in ensuring the city has achieved the highest recycling rates in the country.

On Friday 4 January, the veterinary inspectorate of the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry issued a formal notice under animal by-products regulations to close the facility and to dispose of the existing composting material stored at the site by 4 February.

"I lobbied very hard for this facility to be opened in the first place and I am very disappointed that Galway City Council has been slow in upgrading it to comply with EU directives, forcing the department of Agriculture to temporarily close the facility," said Cllr ó Brolcháin.

"Work was supposed to have been completed last summer. This is yet another example of the crisis management that seems to govern the work of Galway City Council. I have repeatedly highlighted the fact that our award-winning recycling system has been losing momentum in recent times. We have not been building on our success as the best recyclers in the country, perhaps this is a wake-up call for Galway City Council."

In a statement to Cllr Ó Brolcháin, Director of Services Tom Hernon said that an upgrade of the facility is currently underway and it should be back in operation by mid-February.

"The Carrowbrowne composting facility is currently being upgraded to comply with the Animal By Product Regulations. The project, costing €2.5 million, is nearing completion and is expected to be in operation by mid-February, subject to the Department of Agriculture's approval. Pending the opening of this new facility, the Department of Agriculture has required us to discontinue the use of our existing facility at Carrowbrowne.

"Notwithstanding the Department of Agriculture's requirement, the brown bin collection will continue and the material from this collection will be composted at another approved site. It is expected that the new facility at Carrowbrowne will be in operation by mid February."

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