Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for choosing this item. I ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Ahern, to intervene with ESB International and Hibernian Wind Energy, which are developing the wind farm at Derrybrien in County Galway, to allay the fears of the local residents that no further danger will occur as a result of development works on site. I also ask the Minister to satisfy the residents that these companies have complied with their statutory duties and have not violated conditions of planning associated with the development.

This issue is having very serious consequences for the residents of Derrybrien as well as for the future development of wind energy in the country. I hope the Minister will take responsibility for co-ordinating matters and reassuring local residents that no further danger will result from any development until full investigations are carried out on site. I congratulate the residents of Derrybrien on their co-operation with all the agencies during the past three weeks. From the outset, the engineering staff and management of Galway County Council have been on site and have been very professional in the way they have dealt with the difficulties facing them.

Neither ESB International nor Hibernian Wind Energy has taken on board their full responsibilities and this is regrettable. One end to another of the Slieve Aughty mountains have been mounded, drained and quarried by Coillte and other State bodies over the years and not one occurrence of this nature happened anywhere. Insufficient investigation of the site was carried out before this development started. Local people repeatedly said that they feared this development. They are not against wind energy in itself, or the construction of wind turbines, but they feared that danger was involved and this has been borne out by what has happened. They were aware of the terrain and the difficulties any development of this type would have on site. However, their expressed fears and opinions were ignored and there is now a catastrophe.

Prior to the major landslide, another landslide was already recorded and noticed on site, but nobody remarked on it. The idea that the developers on site thought whatever might happen could be ignored was, as I said, extreme recklessness. There were many reasons why they should have reported it and immediately taken action for the future. The Health and Safety Authority should have been notified. Nobody in those companies took the responsibility to respond in that way. The greatest fear now is that the further development planned for this site will take place in an area which will cause far greater concern because of its location relative to the residents of Derrybrien. The first part of the development took place in an area that fortunately could not affect the residents. The remaining part of it will cause very serious concern because of the terrain and the way it is inclined towards the residential part of that community.