Conflict of interest in appointment of ABP as Competent Authority for PCI Failure by ABP to properly engage prescribed bodies in its handling of EirGrid submissions to ABP Each of the above 15 points is substantive in its own regard and merits investigation. But the overriding substantive issue is that of the continued refusal and repeated failure to carry out a genuine public consultation on this project. This is all the more unforgiveable given that EirGrid is going through the process of a resubmitted planning application, over a 7 year period. approach of paying lip-service to the option of undergrounding and to ignore Eirgrid’s brazen public concerns and recommendations strongly indicates that it carries the imprimatur of the full backing of Government to steam-roll the North-South interconnector through the planning stages, and in so doing break the will of local communities opposing the Grid Link and Grid West projects. The current EirGrid Project Manager Mr John Fitzgerald recently stated on the airwaves that: is key. We have to have these projects accepted or they “..public acceptability be In a sworn affidavit to the High Court, dated 19th May 2008, simply won’t built..”. EirGrid’s then Project Manager, Mr Tomás Mahony, stated: is recognised by the Respondent that such ‘It infrastructure cannot be put in place without the general acceptance of the people of the North East...’ NEPPC concurs with Mr Mahony’s assessment. It is an alarming development for the public that the new EU regulation 347, which espouses greater public consultation as a core component of PCI projects is in fact being ignored and manipulated by EirGrid and by An Bord Pleanála in a rush to force through the planning application yet again. It is incumbent of the EU Commission to investigate this aspect in particular and not to allow the whole issue of respect for the integrity of the public consultation process, a process that is a central pillar of our democracy, to be hijacked.
Conflict of interest in appointment of ABP as Competent Authority for PCI Failure by ABP to properly engage prescribed bodies in its handling of EirGrid submissions to ABP Each of the above 15 points is substantive in its own regard and merits investigation. But the overriding substantive issue is that of the continued refusal and repeated failure to carry out a genuine public consultation on this project. This is all the more unforgiveable given that EirGrid is going through the process of a resubmitted planning application, over a 7 year period. Eirgrid’s brazen approach of paying lip-service to the option of undergrounding and to ignore public concerns and recommendations strongly indicates that it carries the imprimatur of the full backing of Government to steam-roll the North-South interconnector through the planning stages, and in so doing break the will of local communities opposing the Grid Link and Grid West projects. The current EirGrid Project Manager Mr John Fitzgerald recently stated on the airwaves that: “..public acceptability is key. We have to have these projects accepted or they simply won’t be built..”. In a sworn affidavit to the High Court, dated 19th May 2008, EirGrid’s then Project Manager, Mr Tomás Mahony, stated: ‘It is recognised by the Respondent that such infrastructure cannot be put in place without the general acceptance of the people of the North East...’ NEPPC concurs with Mr Mahony’s assessment. It is an alarming development for the public that the new EU regulation 347, which espouses greater public consultation as a core component of PCI projects is in fact being ignored and manipulated by EirGrid and by An Bord Pleanála in a rush to force through the planning application yet again. It is incumbent of the EU Commission to investigate this aspect in particular and not to allow the whole issue of respect for the integrity of the public consultation process, a process that is a central pillar of our democracy, to be hijacked.
EU-Commission-complaint-by-NEPPC-15-November-20141.docx