Fianna Fáil councillor Jimmy Maloney has called for the numerous community groups who have concerns about the potential Eirgrid project in the county to be provided with funding and can engage the services of a specialist independent consultant so they can be represented and their concerns be put across by an appropriate professional. Cllr Maloney said this week, “I attended the special county council meeting and listened with interest to the presentation given by Eirgrid. I then weighed this up against the numerous calls I had received from the public over the past number of weeks relating to genuine public concern over the Eirgrid proposal. As I see it the only solution for fair and open discussion is to provide the public and community groups with funding to allow them the option of engaging the services of an independent consultant or consultants to represent them at local and national level- Specifically when this process reaches planning stage with An Bord Pleanála. This means that they can request answers to their concerns from the appropriate independent professionals. I further feel that the costs arising from this consultation should be paid for by Eirgrid.”
Cllr Maloney said that he outlined his idea to the meeting, but with the meeting being a “special meeting” it could not be formally considered and he proposes to put this idea forward again at the November meeting of the council, and he hopes to get support from the other councillors for it. He also said, “I am calling on our Taoiseach and Minister Ring and the two other Government deputies to see that this is carried out without delay and funding made available immediately to local groups”
Next Monday, November 11, the Kilmovee and Ballaghaderreen Against Pylon group will hold a public meeting in Kilmovee Community Centre at 8pm. The group this week said, “We believe that Eirgrid have misled the public in the consultation process and therefore we wish to tell the truth about the pylon project. We are not becoming a ‘rent a crowd’ we believe in the development of the west but it does not include the pylons, but a call for under grounding which is technically possible and widely accepted.”
