The Dublin City manager says there is no hope of recouping spending on the Poolbeg incinerator if the project is scrapped.
Owen Keegan says he simply does not know if the planned incinerator will go ahead.
He says a value-for-money audit will be carried out before a decision is made on whether to go ahead with the troubled project.
The location of Poolbeg in Dublin
He has told the Oireachtas Environment Committee that over €96 million has been spent on the project so far, without a brick being laid.
Mr. Keegan says the only way for local authorities to regain their spending on the project is if the project goes ahead.
And he says the four Dublin Councils will lose that money if the project is scrapped.
Newstalk Breakfast spoke earlier to Joe McCarthy - a Sandymount resident who lodged a formal complaint in Europe about the incinerator. He said a series of problems have been identified with the project.
