Media Release from North East Pylon Pressure Campaign (NEPPC)

20February2017

Successful FF motion a major opportunity for combining a comprehensive analysis of the project and its impacts on affected communities

Government counter motion was toothless and displayed an unwillingness to change its position.

NEPPC wishes to convey its strong appreciation to Fianna Fáil for tabling the Dáil motion on the North-South Interconnector and to Sinn Féin, Labour, and many Independents for supporting the Fianna Fáil motion. There was an almost 2 hour debate on the motion before it was voted on, with the motion succeeding by a margin of 19 votes (79 to 60).

The motion called on the Government tocommission immediately, an independent report, incorporating international industry expertise to examine the technical feasibility and cost of undergrounding the North-SouthInterconnector. But it also includedevaluating the potential impacts of both undergrounding and overgrounding theNorth-South Interconnector on surrounding areas, considering such aspectsas its impact on local tourism, health, landscape, agriculture and heritage.Finally, it requested better engagement and community consultation and a demand that no further work is done on the North-South Interconnector until thisanalysis and a full community consultation is completed.

The motion, for the first time, includes consideration for the impacts on the wider community and its surroundings. NEPPC has for many years argued that there are major negative impacts and impact costs from pylons and overhead lines, such as impact on health, tourism, devaluation, agriculture and landscape. EirGrid has consistently refused to accept or include any of these factors and costs. An Bord Pleanála only look at planning aspects. The successful motion allows at last for a real-life appraisal of the project.

NEPPC wishes to highlight its disappointment and annoyance at the amendment proposed by the Government. It was an exercise in clever wordsmithing that is an insult to the affected communities who have been calling for an objective analysis for the last 10 years. The amendment proposed to only publish an independent analysis of existing developments and then to be cognisant of same. There was no commitment to do anything. No mention of people impacts, just cost differences. It was an amendment carefully constructed to say a lot but do nothing.

The amendment and the subsequent statement by the Minister of Communications, Climate Change and the Environment reveals that the Minister seems to have his mind made up on the project going ahead in its current format as an overhead line. NEPPC requests that he reconsider this position and to this end we will work closely with his Department in any way possible, particularly in relation to providing a balanced view on the technical viability and costs of undergrounding.

NEPPC is,however, cognizant of the key task at hand in relation to this motion, namely that it is crucial that the terms of reference are objective and comprehensive. We request that NEPPC has a detailed input into the setting up and signing off on these terms of reference. This is in the interest of all parties concerned, because if the public believe there are games being played in order to manipulate the desired result it will just be a wastes of everyone’s time.

NEPPC notices that already EirGrid is playing games with the successful motion, where over the weekend it has stated that the North-South interconnector cannot be undergrounded on one hand, but it welcomes an independent review on the other hand. NEPPC wishes to highlight the hypocrisy of EirGrid welcoming an independent review that it refused to agree to for the last 10 years.

The motion is an opportunity for all sides to take stock and for common sense to prevail. NEPPC plans to use this opportunity to once again emphasize that an undergrounding solution is a win-win for all.

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