Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

All of us can agree that the national interest should be foremost in our minds, but while Senator Gilroy made his points in an interesting and reasonable way, they highlight once again the problem of the Whip in politics. Politicians do not seem to be allowed to state their convictions. Perhaps it is a good thing to debate these issues in a way that allows people to take different views within their own parties. The problem, however, is that they cannot vote according to their convictions. We saw an example of this a couple of months ago when a motion I introduced on putting high-voltage lines underground where physically possible was defeated by one vote because three Labour Party Senators who agreed with the motion were able only to abstain from voting.

I recently had a conversation with a farmer from my part of the country who was extremely concerned about plans to erect massive wind turbines around his farm. He expressed fear that his land would be greatly devalued if other farmers around him erected these turbines on their land. He told me that someone had visited his house, without written documentation, to gather information and suss the place out. Subsequently he received an ominous message advising that he had two weeks to sign up or he would be out. He painted an alarming picture whereby farmers and landowners are being played off against each other. Information and clarity as to the precise sources of information are sometimes in short supply and it is all about getting the decision over the line without proper consultation with people. This is a source of considerable anger and disquiet to many people throughout the country.

While Senator Gilroy was right to say we all support the export of surplus wind energy, many people fear that Ireland will become a source of cheap energy for Britain in circumstances in which the British would not tolerate similar despoliation of their own landscape.