Galway East Sinn Féin’s Louis O’Hara has welcomed An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse substitute consent (retrospective planning permission ) for Derrybrien Windfarm. As well as the significant environmental damage caused, almost €17 million in public money has been lost in EU fines, and O’Hara argues that there must be accountability within the ESB for their handling of this case.
O’Hara said that An Bord Pleanála’s decision to refuse substitute consent for Derrybrien Windfarm is welcome news, and the only reasonable decision following the 2003 landslide caused by construction of the windfarm, which had a devastating effect on the environment and local community.”
“The Board reached this decision because remedial works carried out since the 2003 landslide did not fully mitigate the significant effects caused to the environment.”
“This confirms the findings of the report published by the EU Commission last summer which highlighted a number of issues with the substitute consent application.”
“This decision raises serious questions for the ESB’s handling of this issue over the last two decades, and in particular their failure to engage meaningfully with the local community or take on board their concerns in their application. As a result of their actions almost €17 million in public money has been lost in EU fines and significant damage has been caused to the environment,” he said.
“The ESB have been trying to dodge their environmental responsibilities for too long and there must be accountability within the ESB for how this case has been handled. It is a shocking way for a state-owned company to act and lessons must be learned from this.”
“Finally, there needs to be a resolution to the turf cutting issue on the site, following the ESB’s ban in April of last year. This decision clearly demonstrates that the ESB are responsible for environmental damage on the site and they must reach an accommodation with turbary rights holders, who were prevented from cutting turf last summer, as soon as possible,” he concluded.
