Minister for Agriculture makes representations to Cork Co. Council on behalf of Wind Farm developer

cork | environment | news report Wednesday August 02, 2006 12:53 by Quentin Gargan - Bantry Concerned Action Group bantrypylonprotest at eircom dot net

Farmers Astonished at “ill considered” interference and call on Minister to Explain her position

Farmers in Bantry have were astonished to find a letter in the planning office from Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture making representations on behalf of Bob Murnane who is currently seeking planning permission to extend the size of a controversial windfarm near Bantry.

The Ballybane windfarm being developed by local businessmen Murnane and O’Shea requires a grid connection to a sub-station 14 kilometres away. Over twenty farmers along the route have been blockading the ESB to prevent them from constructing overhead powerlines.

Letter from Minister Mary Coughlan to Cork Co. Council

Farmers in Bantry have were astonished to find a letter in the planning office from Mary Coughlan, Minister for Agriculture making representations on behalf of Bob Murnane who is currently seeking planning permission to extend the size of a controversial windfarm near Bantry.

The Ballybane windfarm being developed by local businessmen Murnane and O’Shea requires a grid connection to a sub-station 14 kilometres away. Over twenty farmers along the route have been blockading the ESB to prevent them from constructing overhead powerlines.

Bantry Concerned Action Group (BCAG) is at a loss to understand why Minister Coughlan would make representations to Cork County Council on behalf of a windfarm developer who is in conflict with farmers. Bantry could hardly be further from her constituency, so this is not the normal parish pump letter on behalf of a constituent.

The farmers support green energy and never objected to the planning application for the original windfarm because they believed it would be routed via powerlines just a mile away. However they have now lodged objections to a proposed enlargement of the windfarm because of the existing standoff over how the windfarm is to be connected to the grid.

“We feel we’ve been sold down the river by our Minster for Agriculture” said Joe Burke, chairman of Bantry Concerned Action Group “She is supposed to be standing up for farmers in Ireland and here we find her making representations on behalf of businessmen who are insisting on taking powerlines across our farms”.

“The Minister is working way outside her brief” said Quentin Gargan, spokesman for the group “Farmers throughout the country are demanding that powerlines be put underground for valid health and safety reasons and the Minister should either support them in their quest or have the decency to stay out of the debate”.

In her letter, the Minister says that she wishes to make representations on behalf of Bob Murnane in relation to difficulties in commencing his project. “The only difficulty is Murnane and O’Shea’s instance that these powerlines go overground, despite substantial epidemiological evidence that living close to overhead powerlines increases the risk of children contracting leukaemia” said Gargan “If the Minister wants to resolve Bob Murnane’s difficulties, she should talk to Minister Dempsey and see if the Commission for Energy Regulation might introduce a pricing mechanism for wind energy that would cover the cost of putting cables underground, instead of making ill considered representations to Local Authorities” he added.

Bantry Concerned Action Group believes that had Bob Murnane, called on the Minister to meet with the farmers involved and see if something could be sorted out, that would be a different matter entirely and such a meeting could have been a constructive response by the Minister.

Minister Depsey has refused to consider the local situation because it is before the courts. BCAG does not accept that this is a valid reason – the matters before the courts are very narrow ones of planning and injunction proceedings.

The group now calls on Ministers Coughlan and Dempsey to meet with Bantry Concerned Action Group and discuss how the issue of overhead powerlines can be dealt with – not just in the case of this windfarm, but in future cases as well.

Unequal access to the ear of Ministers is only going to inflame the debate.

Further Information:
Quentin Gargan, Spokesperson.………….. 086 869 3140 / 027 52773
Joe Burke, Chairman BCAG ………………. 086-2705589 / 027 51585
Photo Library Shots:………………………… Provision, Cork
Photo Library Shots of farmers rally……….. Tony McElhinney 087 235 7308
BCAG website with map, reports etc. ……… http://www.bantrypylonprotest.com/

Epidemiological Study on childhood leukaemia;
www.bantrypylonprotest.com/wp-content/uploads/bmjarticlepylons_01.pdf