Consultants paid €150k to analyse pylon plans

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 development comes as local community groups continue to gather to fight the new network, despite the insistence of electricity bosses that living near pylons was “completely safe”.

Eirgrid, the State-owned electric power transmission operator, is carrying out a public consultation process on the project, which is part of a €3.2bn investment in the electricity infrastructure.