MEP Jim Higgins has rowed in on the pylon debate, warning that the people of rural Ireland are feeling “ignored, isolated and unrepresented”.
He said the government needs to abandon its plan to erect pylons across rural landscapes as part of the proposed Eirgrid energy infrastructure upgrade and look at other solutions, such as undergrounding the cables.
“Undergrounding the cables is approximately three times more expensive, but I believe that the protection of our health, tourism, agricultural and environmental industries merit this expense,” said Mr Higgins.
"There's a lot of talk about the next generation energy supply network, what about the next generation of Irish people? We need to ask ourselves what kind of Ireland would we like our young to inherit?"
"We are certainly in tough economic times, but pillaging our beautiful landscape and endangering the health of our people cannot be the only road to recovery."
