Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House. I have great sympathy for the people of Derrybrien as I said at a public meeting last Monday. This is an environmental disaster. A river has been wiped out and Senator Ulick Burke tells us that 100,000 fish have been killed. The river flows into Lough Cutra which is the basis for the water supply in Gort so it is an issue not only for Derrybrien but for south Galway that this pollution has taken place. It is a major setback for the development of wind energy. I fully support wind energy but it has been difficult to convince people about it, particularly on the west coast. These problems in Derrybrien do not help the project.

I would like the Minister of State to take up some of the points made by Senator Ulick Burke, in particular about the planning permission that was granted. Did it include quarrying and blasting? One part of this development was refused by Galway County Council and was granted by An Bord Pleanála, which has to answer questions about why this part of the development went ahead. I would like to pay tribute to the local action group, chaired by Martin Collins who has followed the question of these planning matters for several years. He makes the point that we never get independent views on this. Everyone has a consultant, whether the developer or the contractor, and the best source of independent advice on this now is Galway County Council. I pay tribute to it for the work it has done. It had to get in very quickly when the landslide occurred, to close the roads and monitor the situation around the clock.