IRISH TIMES LETTER PAGE. NOV 21st 2013. Sir, – Repeated references to “public consultation” (John Lowry of Eirgrid, November 11th) are irrelevant, as the citizens, particularly those to be affected, have a legal right to participate in decision-making in a “transparent and fair framework”. EirGrid has subverted that right and is proceeding with a programme, which is not lawful. First, the environment does not belong to the State, but to the citizens, who have to be given robust procedural rights. Second, the United Nation’s Economic Commission for Europe’s (UNECE) Aarhus Convention, part of Community law, addresses access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters. Additional EU law relates to strategic environmental assessment. The programme has to be assessed and determined to be suitable through the public participation process before it can be adopted. Currently, the Irish administration is proceeding with a National Renewable Energy Action Plan (NREAP) involving some 3,000 wind turbines and an additional 5,000km of high voltage lines, the latter EirGrid’s Grid25 plan. This NREAP bypassed the two legal requirements identified above. Already the UNECE Aarhus Convention legal tribunal has ruled that the EU and Ireland are in breach of the convention, with respect to the adoption of the NREAP. Despite this ruling, both the EU and Irish administrations are continuing to proceed with the renewable programme, thereby subverting the democratic process. The European Court has also ruled that “if the ‘plan’ or ‘programme’ was adopted in breach of the obligation to carry out a prior environmental assessment, that court is obliged to take all the general or particular measures provided for by its national law in order to remedy the failure to carry out such an assessment, including the possible suspension or annulment of the contested ‘plan’ or ‘programme’.”. These matters are now subject of proceedings in my name in the Irish High Court. Personally, I do not agree with the Irish countryside being turned into a wind turbine and pylon hedgehog. When EirGrid completed the Grid25 strategic environmental assessment, it failed to ensure the participation of the public affected. Only 22 submissions were received and responded to; of which only three, including mine, could be attributed to the public. As I pointed out there was no mandatory environmental assessment of the stated objective of Grid25, namely the renewable programme, which was then the subject of legal proceedings at UNECE. EirGrid’s position was: “Comments on the undertaking of environmental assessment or otherwise of other policies, plans, programmes or projects is not within the scope of this report”. Grid25 did not comply with the legal requirement for “early public participation, when all options are open and effective public participation can take place” as required by the Aarhus Convention. Neither is Grid25’s objective legally compliant, as per Aarhus. EirGrid should go back and comply with the law – does it really think that Irish citizens are going to tolerate 5,000km of unnecessary high voltage lines, at a cost of more than €4 billion added to their bills? – Yours, etc, PAT SWORDS, BE CEng FIChemE CEnv MIEMA, Hillcourt Road, Glenageary, Co Dublin. Sir, – Ireland ratified the European Landscape Convention in 2004 and agreed in clause 5d “to integrate landscape into its regional and town planning policies and in its cultural, environmental, social and economic policies as well as in any other policies with possible direct or indirect impact on landscape”. The Heritage Council (answerable to the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht) has published a draft policy on landscape. High level objective five states, “The strategy will ensure that landscape considerations are accommodated in cultural, environmental, agricultural, social, health, education , recreation, tourism, economic and transport policies and all relevant sectors of public administration.” How does this leave the pylon project? – Yours, etc, CHARLES KEANE, Cappoquin, Co Waterford.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 16:48:23 +0000
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