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Over the next four Tuesdays EirGrid will be holding information clinics in the Grid West Information Centre on Bury Street in Ballina.

Grid West is currently continuing its work in looking at both overground and underground route options for the infrastructure project.

EirGrid has announced plans this week to lodge a planning application to the Mayo County Council for the uprate of the existing 110kV overhead line between Bellacorick and Castlebar (part two) today, Friday August 8. The Bellacorick to Castlebar 110kv line is approximately 37km in length and is primarily supported by single circuit wood poles with steel angle towers. In 2013 part one of the uprate was completed, comprising approximately 17km extending out of the Castlebar substation.

In Mayo in 2013, businesses donated a total of €458,011 in cash and in kind donations to local charities and community groups. More than 1,295 hours were volunteered by local employees and over 134 community partnerships were supported. This information is being captured by Business in the Community Ireland, on an online interactive map entitled the Business Impact Map which gives a county by county breakdown of how companies such as A&L Goodbody, ESB, Intel Ireland, Diageo Ireland and their employees supported their local community groups and charities during 2013.

Allowing Bord Gáis to hike its gas and electricity costs by 1.47 per cent from next month will do nothing but heap more pressure on hard pressed families in Galway.

Fine Gael TD for Mayo, Michelle Mulherin, has this week highlighted the need for a study to be carried out to determine the pros and cons of locating power lines above and below ground, so that the public is fully informed in an open and transparent manner. Deputy Mulherin was speaking following the appearance by Eirgrid at the recent Joint Oireachtas Transport and Communications Committee.

Next Monday’s meeting of Mayo County Council will see a number of different motions come before the councillors in relation to different strands of energy issues in the county including the Eirgrid project. Independent councillor Michael Kilcoyne has one motion calling “that Mayo County Council invite Dr David Connolly, who is a renewable energy expert and native of Ballyhaunis, to give a presentation to the members of Mayo County Council so we might learn from the experience of the windy western counties of Denmark, and their efforts to achieve a situation where 100% of their energy requirement is supplied by renewable energy and where renewable energy is the largest employer. Dr. David Connolly is now assistant professor in Aalborg University, Denmark.”

The hot-button issue of the proposed Grid West 400kV power line development has continued to evolve this week. At Monday’s Mayo County Council meeting, the elected members took the unusual step of adjourning the standing orders of the meeting to let one of the affected members of the community address the meeting in the middle of a debate.

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.”

Mayo County Council will hold a special meeting on the morning of Monday, November 4 at 10am where the issue of the Eirgrid preferred route in north Mayo will be discussed. There has been widespread opposition to the proposed route of the €240 million 440KV high capacity overhead power line for the west of Ireland, since it was announced a number of weeks ago.