In a controversial decision which could have major implications for Cork County Council, its members voted yesterday by 31 votes to four to rescind planning permission for ESB pylons to be built around Cork Harbour.
This reversed an earlier decision of the council - upheld by An Bord Pleanala on appeal - allowing the ESB to erect some 84 overland pylons around Cork Harbour to deal with strong growth in demand for extra power in the region.
The anti-pylon groups in the harbour area claim the evidence presented to them by independent and international experts proves there is a serious risk to health due to radiation from overland pylons and cables. The ESB has vigorously disputed this.
For more than a year, the ESB has argued that if the pylons are not put in place, Cork city and the lower Cork Harbour area could face serious power cuts. But local residents in the harbour have countered with what they claim is scientific evidence that the overland cables could have a damaging effect on health as well as arguing that they are unsightly.
Anti-pylon groups have also claimed that it would be possible for the ESB to run its cables under Cork Harbour and that if two parallel cables were put in place, one would always be working in the event of the other breaking down. The ESB has said that funding this suggestion would involve as much as £30 million, while its own proposal would cost no more than £9 million.
The anti-pylon group says, however, that the cost of compensation to pay for disruption to land in the harbour area might come to as much as £17 million and that the difference between the underwater option and the overland one is therefore nominal.
At a meeting of Cork County Council yesterday, at which a motion was debated under Section 30 of the 1963 Local Government Act - entitling councillors to rescind a planning permission - there was heated debate despite the fact that members had been warned earlier that to thwart the ESB's plans might involve them individually in legal actions for compensation.
But only four councillors upheld the original planning decision, while 31 others voted it down.
Labour councillor Mr John Mulvihill, from east Cork, told the meeting that he would not be intimidated by threats of individual liability. And another councillor, Mr Conor O'Callaghan of Fine Gael, said the vote overturning the original planning permission was a victory for local democracy.
A third councillor, Mr Dan Fleming, said he had a child ill with leukaemia and no one could gamble with the health of young people.
Cork County Council's official response to the vote yesterday was that a decision had now been taken in council and this would be relayed to the ESB. Mr Kieran Costello, the external relations officer for the council, said the legal ramifications were not yet clear but it was obvious that the ESB had options available to it.
It could once again appeal the council's decision to An Bord Pleanala or it could challenge the decision in the courts.
A spokesman for the ESB said the company was awaiting the formal communication about the vote from the council and its effect on the planning process. But he warned that: "There are likely to be serious legal issues. The ESB does not wish to comment any further at this time."
The original planning permission was granted in the middle of 1997 and at the end of that year, An Bord Pleanala upheld the permission. Since then, the ESB has been in regular communication with the objectors, but no compromise could be reached.
If the ESB loses its fight to erect the pylons, there are clear implications for the company throughout the rest of the State. The other side of the coin is that if the pylons are not erected, the electricity company is warning of power shortages in and around the Cork city and harbour area and a possible disruption to some of the major employers in Cork.
If industry is seriously disrupted, there could be job losses and if the demand for power cannot be met, the possibility also exists that prices to consumers could be raised.