Councils join forces to harness Shannon power
The estuary is the largest in Ireland, covering 1,500sq km and stretching 100km from Limerick city to Loop Head.
Already, the estuary is the location for the €698 million Aughinish Alumina refinery in Co Limerick and the largest coal-burning station in the country at Moneypoint on the estuary’s northern shore.
The estuary is also home to the country’s largest resident population of bottlenose dolphins, while the state is in the process of designating the entire estuary a Special Protection Area for birds.
An inter-jurisdictional Strategic Integrated Framework Plan will seek to identify sites that are robust and provide opportunities for development.
The plan will also identify locations within the estuary that are exceptionally sensitive to environmental impact and that should be kept free from development due to ecological sensitivity.
Clare County Council is the lead local authority in the process and is in the course of appointing consultants to draw up the integrated plan with the aim of having preliminary proposals concluded by February and the final draft plan finished by June.
The strategic plan is to be incorporated into the respective development plans for the local authorities around the Shannon.
Clare County Councillor PJ Kelly said: “The Shannon estuary has been sterilised for development by various EU directives and I would hope that this plan will allow development take place. There needs to be an outbreak of common sense on this.”
The consultants drawing up the strategic integrated plan will also draft Strategic Environmental Assessment reports and consider opportunities for development, including renewable energy, marine related industry and commercial fishing and aquaculture.
One of the aims of the plan is to safeguard the estuary’s sensitive environmental resources and natural heritage of national, European and international significance and to establish an evidence-based approach to identifying areas for future development.
Tender documentation for the plan states “ultimately, the plan will be used to direct and guide development and environmental conservation in and around the Shannon into the future”.
Work on the strategic integrated plan is due to commence next month.