Pylons saga heading for "a very confrontational stage"

A warning that the decades long saga of the North South Interconnector is heading for "a very confrontational stage" has been issued by the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign (NEPPC) group, who accused Eirgrid and ESB of "bloody mindedness".

"We are heading for a very confrontational stage, based on a bloody mindedness of a semi-state company to have their way and ignore the people who are more than willing to work with them if they use modern technology," said Padraig O'Reilly, NEEPPC spokesperson.

"Nobody can argue that resorting to using thousands of tonnes of steel and concrete and displacing some of the best soils in the country is the way forward," he said.

Mr O'Reilly said the Government has been consistently misled by EirGrid and ESB on this project. "The two companies have historically been granted powers of authority that are no longer fit for purpose in today’s world.

"NEPPC and local communities have been quiet on this issue for the past three years, but it would be a major mistake to think there is any lessening of resolve to ensure it will be undergrounding or bust for EirGrid.

Mr O'Reilly said the review published last evening focuses solely on the one-dimensional technical aspects of overhead lines or undergrounding.

"It yet again fails to properly analyse the overall risk-benefit of this project on the environment, on affected communities, on landscape and heritage and on farming practice and livelihoods.

"It cannot claim to be independent when all proposed submissions from affected communities in Meath, Cavan and Monaghan were refused outright from the beginning.

"It cannot claim to be independent when one of its two stated objectives was to engage with EirGrid and ask to provide a list of conclusions and recommendations set out in previous reports conducted/commissioned by it .

"Let us not forget that EirGrid ruled out undergrounding from the outset in 2007 prior to informing the public about the existence of the project and without any public consultation process.

" The argument that cost of undergrounding would be prohibitive is no longer valid. Eirgrid’s own statements related to the Meath-Kildare underground project argued that undergrounding is now competitive from an overall cost-benefit analysis. Either they are correct or they are making it up as they go along."

Mr O'Reilly said thebargument that switching to undergrounding would cause a delay of five years and more rings very hollow now. "The five years have passed, nothing has progressed. The same reasons remain – a total lack of honesty about the feasibility of undergrounding and a disdain for the affected communities and associated impacts.

"There is a claim from EirGrid that the overhead line will bring more benefits to local communities than an underground cable. This is founded on the scenario that they wish to build more data centres and these could be more easily connected. NEPPC does not accept this as in anyway a valid argument for an overhead line. Specific rural local communities should not bear the brunt of an ill-conceived strategy to build an exorbitant amount of data centres in Ireland compared to the rest of the world. The existing data centres power need is already higher than all of rural Ireland."