Eirgrid appointment - Objectors have a valid argument

If the Government hoped to avert controversy over the relentless march of giant electricity pylons across the country, the appointment of ex-Bord Pleanála chairman John O’Connor as head of Eirgrid, amounts to another self-inflicted public relations disaster for the Coalition.

Neither Mr O’Connor’s integrity nor professionalism are in doubt. But in purely psychological terms, he is seen as the wrong man for the job. Especially in communities through whose heartland the deeply unpopular high capacity power lines will be driven.

To the majority of those who live in or near in pylon hotspots, his appointment as chair of the state-owned energy company responsible for operating the electricity transmission systems, is like a red rag to a bull.