Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

There are significant concerns, anger and frustration at the GridLink 25 proposal across the Munster counties of Cork, Tipperary and Waterford and the Leinster counties of Wexford, Kilkenny, Kildare and Carlow. Thousands have turned out at public meetings across the areas in question. I congratulate all of the various action groups involved and the legendary cyclist, Sean Kelly, for his leadership on the issue. This is an intolerable proposal that will be resisted.

Everyone accepts that the country must have a top quality electricity infrastructure. What is at issue, however, is the manner of its delivery. The Grid Link proposal is monstrous, with 750 monster pylons over a route of 250 km, standing 45 m high, ten times the height of the average bungalow, and set at 330 m intervals. Residents will have to live with them 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. These monsters will blight the landscape for locals and visitors alike, destroying local tourism industries. Large scenic areas across south Tipperary and west Waterford are affected by this proposal.

EirGrid is engaged in a sham consultation process that does not include undergrounding or undersea options. It is also involved in a divide and conquer approach, setting residents along one route against another, as well as neighbours along individual routes against each other. There are concerns about the devaluation of lands, houses and properties, with the possibility of not being able to sell them in the future. Significant health issues are also at stake. National and international reports have failed to confirm that high voltage power lines are safe for humans. Some have pointed to significant health issues such as childhood leukaemia.

Best international practice involves the undergrounding of such lines. Denmark, the Netherlands, Japan, France and Spain are good examples of where this has happened. They have shown undergrounding is technically possible and financially feasible. I call on the Government to suspend the Grid Link project pending the outcome of an international independent feasibility study of the laying of these lines underground and underwater.

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