Rural areas lobbied strongly to get nuclear power stations

Far from being fearful of a nuclear power plant, many local communities actually lobbied to have one sited in their area, State Papers from 30 years ago show.

Plans to build a nuclear power station in this State attracted aintensive lobbying campaign to the Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, in 1971. But letter-writers were not complaining about nuclear energy - rather they were urging the nuclear station be located in their areas.

Plans to build the station at Carnsore Point, Co Wexford, were eventually abandoned following large anti-nuclear protests, yet in 1971, Mr Hugh Gibbons, a Fianna Fáil Roscommon-Leitrim TD, wrote to the Taoiseach asking that "adequate considerations" be given to locating the station in the north-west.

Ballina Comhairle Ceanntair Fianna Fáil suggested it be located in Erris, noting a project of that size "would help stabilise the existing population and encourage many of those people who had to emigrate to return home". Bangor Erris in Mayo also lobbied strongly for the nuclear station, saying it would "save" the area.Father Gilvarry, chairman of Bangor Erris Development Association, wrote: "It is now or never for the Erris area. A few years more and all will be lost."

Kerry man Mr Denis O'Dwyer urged that Iveragh peninsula be considered. "The disused slate quarry on Valentia Island would be an ideal site, fully camouflaged against possible aerial attack during war."

Sligo County Development Team also lobbied for the power station, saying it would give "a tremendous boost" to local employment.

In November 1973, the new Fine Gael/Labour coalition approved a proposal that the ESB "should proceed with a nuclear project at once".

It came from the Minister for Transport and Power, Mr Peter Barry, after consulting with the Ministers for Health, Finance, Industry and Commerce, Local Government and Foreign Affairs. Of all the Ministers consulted, only the Minister for Health, Mr Brendan Corish, had no observations on the matter.

Environmental considerations were raised by the Minister for Local Government, Mr James Tully, but Mr Barry said he was "confident that it should be possible to protect the environment fully".

The ESB's case for a nuclear power station is outlined in memos to the Government from Mr Barry's department. One memo warned that the ESB's dependence on imported oil was "critically high", especially in light of troubles in the Middle East.

In what turned out to be an excessively optimistic view, the memo said the ESB "expect there will be some opposition to a nuclear station, but experience elsewhere suggests that the first nuclear station in a country is not seriously opposed . . . the ESB feel they will be able to counteract any agitation which may arise against the project."