Two Co Waterford brothers have won a four-year planning battle with the ESB over two pylons, after the electricity company was told by An Bord Pleanála it had to take the structures down because they had no planning permission.
Yesterday Mr Frank Drummy, who lives with his brother, Maurice, near Dungarvan, said they were "over the moon" at the board's decision.
It follows a tortuous saga which began when a developer built a house directly under a major power line, opposite their family home.
In 1999 Mr Eoin McGarry was granted planning permission for a dwelling at Ballyneety, Dungarvan, opposite the Drummys' home.
This was on condition that the house was located at least 10 metres away from a 38 kilovolt ESB line, the main line providing power to the Dungarvan area of Co Waterford. However, the following year it emerged that the house was being built directly under the power line.
In March 2000, in order to make the line safer in relation to the new house, the ESB replaced two of the 40-year-old timber poles with two new steel pylons .
The Drummys lodged a complaint to Waterford County Council about the pylons which were located just 40 metres from their front door.
After they were told by the council that the pylons were exempt from planning law, the men then complained to the Ombudsman's office.
The Ombudsman took up the case on the brothers' behalf, and referred it to An Bord Pleanála.
Last year the board concluded that the ESB required planning permission for the pylons.
The electricity company applied to Waterford County Council, but was turned down on the basis of the visual impact of the pylons, which towered over the Drummy house nearby.
After an appeal by the ESB, An Bord Pleanála has now upheld that decision. It found that the existing dwelling was in contravention of its original planning conditions.
It also found that "the positioning of the masts, in close proximity to the public road and to the front of an adjoining dwelling would impact on the visual and residential amenities of the area".
"It's four years and four months to the day since the ESB put them down there," Mr Frank Drummy, who is a full-time carer for his brother, said. "It was a tough battle, it was a mighty battle, but we won it."
Yesterday the ESB said it was committed to removing the two pylons, but would only be able to do so when an alternative route for the line was found.