Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) has withdrawn its High Court actions challenging An Bord Pleanála's approval of two new peat-fired power stations and the Environmental Protection Agency's decision to license them.
At issue in the judicial review proceedings was the failure of either the planning appeals board or the EPA to require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) of the extraction of peat for the power stations at Lanesborough and Shannonbridge.
"The powers-that-be were so intent on us not airing the fact that there has never been an EIA of peat extraction that they had prepared a petition to the President of the High Court seeking a special sitting of the court to dismiss our case," a FIE spokesman said.
"We may be strong and brave and honest, but I don't think we are ready to take on that kind of offensive," he added, saying FIE's decision to withdraw its actions was "a direct result of the Government's interference in the judicial process".
On May 8th, in advance of the general election, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, who represents Laois-Offaly, announced that measures to allow the ESB to proceed with building the new power stations had been formally approved by the Cabinet.
Welcoming this move, Mr Cowen said it meant that there was now "no obstacle to the commencement of construction work on the new power stations regardless of the judicial review proceedings recently initiated in relation to planning permission".
The effect of the Government decision was to ensure that, in the event of FIE's legal action resulting in the planning permissions and licences being overturned, any costs incurred by ESB could be recouped from customers under its Public Service Obligation (PSO).
Under a deal approved by the EU last year, the ESB is permitted to recoup the uneconomical cost of producing electricity from peat. The derogation was granted on "national security" grounds because peat is classified as an indigenous fuel source.
The FIE spokesman said the cases it had taken "were no longer worth putting us at risk in the Irish courts". But he said the group would be pursuing the Government's unauthorised extension of the PSO to the EU Commission as "an abuse of a national judicial process".
The Commission is already investigating FIE's complaints about the inadequate environmental impact assessment of the power plants and has issued a "Reasoned Opinion" on Ireland's failure under the EIA Directive, the last step before going to the European Court.
The FIE spokesman said the group was "determined to continue to fight the destruction of Ireland's peatlands and the consequent damage to the global climate", a reference to the value of peatlands as "sinks" for carbon dioxide.