Minister in pylon row with Kildare council

Junior Environment Minister Paudie Coffey has slammed Kildare County Council in a row over pylons, claiming he had to block proposals from the local authority “in the national interest”.

A group of anti-pylon campaigners had criticised the Waterford TD for signing a veto on Kildare County Council’s new County Development Plan, accusing the junior minister of removing a section of the proposals that dealt with minimum separation distance for high tension overhead wires.

Grid Link Action Group said the minister had exercised his power of veto “which has now forced the council to remove its proposal to protect the health of Kildare residents“, claiming the move “dismissed the democratic wishes of local representatives and residents and their right to protection along all Grid25 routes”.

Grid25, to be carried out under Eirgrid, is a €4bn project to reinforce and upgrade the electrical transmission system across a number of national routes.

Grid Link Action Group also pointed to comments previously made to the Irish Examiner about TDs’ attitudes to pylons, in which he said: “If I had a choice I wouldn’t [live beside one].”

However, the minister’s department issued a firm response claiming his comments at the time had been “taken out of context” and strongly criticising Kildare County Council.

A Department of the Environment spokesman said: “The ministerial direction amends the energy policy in the adopted variation by Kildare County Council to their Development Plan relating to minimum separation distances for high tension overhead wires, because it is contrary to national policy .”

He said the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP) Guidelines provide “a definitive and internationally recognised policy framework” for protecting public health and were government policy.

“The Kildare County Development Plan sought to go substantially further than the guidelines in a haphazard and unclear manner, without scientific rigour and in a manner that would not have protected human health,” said the spokesman.