Opponents of a north/south electricity interconnector which would see 300 pylons 15m high being built across counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan are likely to seek a judicial review of the planning decision.

The expert group charged with reviewing Cork’s local government will have access to all documents compiled by the committee that recommended the controversial merger of the city and county councils.

Residents of an East Cork community fear their locality may be chosen for a third Eirgrid development after the State-owned electricity operator indicated it would be carrying out tests in the area for a potential international connection with the continent.

Anti-pylon protesters have claimed their stance has been vindicated by the UK National Grid’s decision to spend £500m (€628m) on scrapping Britain’s “biggest and ugliest” pylons and burying the electricity cables underground.

Two thirds of farmers believe that the controversial Eirgrid high voltage power lines should be placed underground "regardless of the cost".

By the end of the year, Eirgrid will identify one proposed underground and one proposed overground route for its €500m upgrade of the electricity network from Cork to Wexford to Kildare.

Eirgrid has said it will keep an open mind on the future of its Gridwest scheme after reopening the public consultation process to allow consideration of an underground option.

The head of Eirgrid says nobody should prejudge which is the right option when it comes to the Grid West project.

The local and European elections on May 23 will give everyone affected by the Grid Link plan — which will put pylons and wind farms across the South and East — a chance to have their say.

A United Nations (UN) report on climate change warned last week that storm surges, flooding and rising sea levels will wreak increasing havoc on our lives unless Governments take urgent action to reduce carbon emissions.

The gradual conversion of the country’s largest power station from coal to biomass would allow Ireland to meet its renewable energy targets “in one single stroke”, according to a British energy expert who completed a report for one of the country’s anti-pylon groups.

If the vital upgrade to the national grid is not carried out the whole country will face blackouts, according to Gridlink project manager John Lowry.

An overwhelming 70% of voters want the Government to abandon its plans to erect giant pylons across the country, a survey reported last weekend revealed.

There was once a country called Ireland, known as the Emerald Isle.

The pylon debate has reached a new low in the ‘persuasive’ measures utilised by Eirgrid and the Government.

Claims that the latest research shows there is no link between high voltage overhead powerlines and childhood leukaemia have been blasted as dishonest by a leading expert in the field.

A review of studies into how high-voltage cables, and pylons, affect people’s health released by the European Commission was lambasted by an expert in the field who said it omitted important new studies.

Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte has played down a suggestion that concerns about power lines for the North-South interconnector may form part of a review of Eirgrid projects.

The chair of an independent panel charged with examining the feasibility of putting two controversial powerlines underground has said the review will be "cool and unbiased".

A Government decision to examine the feasibility of putting two controversial powerlines underground has been described as an “election stunt” to appease backbenchers under pressure in their constituencies.

Ten-year-old Connor O’Neill is utterly terrified of loud noise.

Fears that a €500m-pylon network will cause health problems have been dismissed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Almost all Coalition TDs living in constituencies along Eirgrid’s proposed GridLink in the South and East of the country want a cost-benefit analysis done on running parts or all of the extension underground.

Members of the public made 35,000 submissions during the first public consultations on the €500m Gridlink electricity project.

Fáilte Ireland claims Eirgrid’s controversial plans to upgrade the electricity network between Munster and Leinster have ignored internationally-used guidelines for the selection of routes of high voltage power lines.

Eirgrid received 35,000 submissions from the public on the planned €500m pylon corridor from Cork to Kildare.

The extent of the public's anger on pylons has become apparent this evening with the revelation that a whopping 35,000 submissions have been made during the public consultation.

Two budding scientists concerned about the effect of electricity pylons on crops have found that electromagnetic radiation from wifi has a significant effect on plant growth.

The Grid Link Action Group is calling for the resignation of Eirgrid Project Manager, John Lowry, following his comments that the controversial new GridLink project cannot be located underground.

Submissions continued to stream into Eirgrid yesterday as the deadline closed for the largest and most controversial public consultation process it has conducted.

The need to reduce CO2 is accepted by the majority of climate scientists and must be addressed by our leaders.

The Government has paid €150,000 plus VAT on outside consultants in relation to plans to erect a €500m electric pylon corridor from Kildare to Cork, via Wexford.

The chairman designate of Eirgrid, the national power grid operator, has admitted that he would not like to live near electricity pylons.

This country, like many others, has sometimes had an unfortunate relationship with all-powerful corporations, especially those not always perceived as corporate entities.

The Chairman designate of Eirgrid said today that he may reconsider taking the post.

Energy infrastructure is approaching a tipping point, with a lack of trust in State institutions resulting in communities hindering the development of national infrastructure, it has been claimed.

The Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte is to be told by a county council that Eirgrid’s plans for a major overhead powerline will be a blight on the landscape and may lead to serious health and economic implications.

WHEN you’re reared in an area, you take it for granted. It’s something that’s a given.

As the State prepares to wave goodbye to the troika, many of us citizens are experiencing a slightly schizophrenic sensation: we welcome the return of relative economic sovereignty, but at the same time we might regret the fact that not even the troika was able to dislodge the perception that there exists a real disconnect between the Irish people and some of the more exalted elements of our state and semi-state apparatus.

Fianna Fáil has demanded that Eirgrid engage with communities over concerns around overhead pylons and stop “dismissing people’s concerns out of hand”.

The Government said a new network of pylons must comply with health and safety standards amid concerns over “monster” structures which are set to be erected in the middle of communities.

More than 1,500 people walked through the cold and rain at the weekend to protest against a proposed Eirgrid network of pylons designated for the area around the Comeragh Mountains.

The €600m east-west interconnector project has been completely shut down as workers return to fix problems with the largest single piece of infrastructure completed since the construction of the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric dam in 1929.