Huge turnout for public meeting opposing Eirgrid’s plans for overhead pylons

Close to 1,000 people attended a public meeting in Co Meath last night in opposition to EirGrid’s plans to upgrade the transmission network though overhead pylons.

The turnout is part of a campaign by North East Pylon Pressure group (Nepp) to galvanise opposition nationally to what it describes as a “disgraceful act of environmental vandalism”.

Those long opposed to a 400kV interconnector between North and South were joined by those opposed to EirGrid's Grid Link project to connect Leinster and Munster with a 400kV overhead electricity line.

The North-South interconnector will involve 450 pylons between Tyrone and Meath while the Grid Link project will connect Cork to Kildare via Waterford with 750 pylons along a kilometre-long corridor.

A public consultation process on the proposed routes is due to conclude at the end of the month.

Padraig O'Reilly of Nepp said they had made a "very strong case" that running the cables underground was feasible and made economic sense. He said the meeting was set up to press the case for a political consensus on this issue.Among the politicians who attended were Fine Gael TD Regina Doherty, Sinn Féin TD Peadar Tóibín, Senator Thomas Byrne and MEP Marian Harkin.

Health and environment
Ms Harkin said she supported the undergrounding of cables because the European Commission had suggested a link between overhead powerlines and childhood leukemia was "valid". Senator Byrne said he opposed pylons on the grounds of health and environment. He said Fianna Fáil would call for the project to be suspended and an independent mediator to be appointed between Eirgrid and the public.

Fine Gael TD Damien English said a Government-commissioned, independent study had proved the cables could go underground, although the costs were disputed. Mr O’Reilly said EirGrid had been invited but declined to attend.

Nepp was set up six years ago to oppose the North-South interconnector stretching from Tyrone to Meath. Mr O'Reilly told the meeting that technology had moved on and now underground high-voltage, direct current lines constituted 25 per cent of the lines planned across Europe in the next decade.

EirGrid had undermined its own argument about the costs involved by the success of the 256km East-West interconnector between Ireland and Wales which has 140km on land underground, he told the meeting.

Nepp adviser Dr Colin Andrew said the California Department of Health had concluded there was "no longer any doubt" overhead pylons caused significant health problems.

He said the effect on the landscape would be "devastating". "You can hardly imagine filming Braveheart when there are so many pylons in the background," he said referring to the Oscar-winning film which was shot in the Trim area.

EirGrid has said there are 6,500km of overhead pylons across the country and they are the most efficient means of carrying electricity.

Burying the cables underground is an inefficient and technically inferior solution which can only work in densely populated city areas, it said. It has also cited a review of medical studies, stating agencies including the World Health Organisation considered the evidence for increased risk of cancer as a result of exposure to power frequency electric and magnetic fields “to be scientifically unconvincing”.