Government Continues to Ignore Public Concern on Pylons

Fianna Fáil Energy Spokesperson Michael Moynihan has accused the government of continuing to ignore community concern about pylons across the country.

Deputy Moynihan commented, “Throughout the public debate on plans for a new pylon network, the Government’s first priority was to dismiss concerns. When that didn’t work, they moved to kick the entire process into the long grass of an independent panel, hoping that the issue could disappear under the carpet until after the local and European elections.

“When the independent panel was announced, we spoke out against the decision to ignore the North / South Inter-connector from the terms of reference and the failure to have a health expert on the group. The Government has continued to simply ignore these core issues.

“A recent BW Energy report outlines more cost effective alternatives to Grid25, namely the conversion of Moneypoint from Coal to Biomass. This alternative costs 10% of the €3.8 Billion Grid25 spend, it represents even greater savings when the cost of turbines are taken into account.”

“If he was taking the Energy issue seriously, surely Minister Pat Rabbitte would put in place a moratorium on all pylon wind turbine projects until the National Renewable Energy Action Plan is reviewed and reassessed? The steadfast refusal to put a moratorium in place is unacceptable and this refusal is making communities more suspicious when viable and cheaper alternatives exist.”