Pylon row coming to a head as judicial review sought in North

Residents opposing the erection of pylons on their lands to carry high-voltage electricity lines have said all planning and procurement for the controversial North South Interconnector project should be halted until a judicial review is finalised in Northern Ireland.

Eirgrid, however, has confirmed toThe Anglo-Celtthat it will be proceeding with the procurement of materials and construction contractors over the coming months. It comes as the Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan is resisting calls for a review of the project in the south, putting him on a collision course with government TDs from this region.

It’s intended to build the 140km long, 400 kilovolt overhead line between counties Meath and Tyrone, running through Cavan and Monaghan, over the space of three years.

The northern segment of the line, however, is facing a judicial review in Northern Ireland.

Papers lodged at the High Court in Belfast challenge the lawfulness of Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon’s decision to approve the North South Interconnector last September.

Campaign group Safe Electricity Armagh and Tyrone (SEAT) is seeking the judicial review. Lawyers for SEAT claim the proposed interconnector is a significant or controversial, cross-cutting issue which should have been referred to the Stormont cabinet.

A spokesperson for Eirgrid told the Celt that its sister organisation, SONI, will be “dealing” with the judicial review in the North but that preparations in the Republic would continue.

A contract to supply pylons for the North-South Interconnector has been signed with a Turkish company. The supplier will “design, test and ultimately supply” the steel towers for the controversial project following the conclusion of legal challenges in Northern Ireland.

“SONI and EirGrid will also be continuing with landowner and community engagement in relation to construction, compensation and community gain proposals,” said the spokesperson.

“Procurement for materials and construction contractors will also be taking place over the coming months,” they added.

The North East Pylon Pressure Committee (NEPPC) insists this work should not be continuing until the review is complete and all planning conditions met.

Padraig Reilly said: “We have stated over the last two years that the procurement of materials or construction should not commence until the planning conditions are discharged and complied with.”

Access to lands

A discrepancy appears to exist in relation to Eirgrid’s right to access lands to erect pylons.

The Eirgrid spokesperson stated: “Access to lands will be required in order to start construction. This will not take place until the judicial review is finished, the procurement process has run and construction contractors have been appointed.”

In terms of their right to access the necessary lands, a company spokesperson said: “Eirgrid and ESB will be following the normal wayleave process, which includes the issuing of notices as in all electricity developments.”

There is a statutory provision within the Electricity Act for accessing land for the purpose of construction and maintaining transmission infrastructure by means of a wayleave notice.

NEPPC however believes that Eirgrid, as the company that secured the planning permission, does not have the power to trigger such wayleave notices, which are intended for the ESB.

“Eirgrid do not have the power that the ESB have. The ESB is only a contractor on this. They did not get the approval. They are trying to use the ESB as the company that got the planning approval,” said Mr Reilly on behalf of NEPPC.

Among the planning conditions for the project, Eirgrid must submit all access routes to the land to the relevant planning authorities prior to commencing work.

“There are 584 access routes in total required by Eirgrid. None of them have been submitted or agreed and yet they are talking about spending millions on material before they have any agreement to go on the land and before they have communicated any of these routes to a single farmer,” said Mr Reilly.

“There should be no money spent on procurement until they have got approval from the local authorities that the planning conditions are being adhered to,” he added.

The planning conditions also stipulate the submission of a construction management plan, a waste management plan and a traffic management plan. “None of those things can be done until the access routes are decided and agreed,” contended the NEPPC spokesman.

“They will issue a notice and give the farmer either 14 days or 7 days to comply. They will say that, if you don’t sign the document in that allotted time, you will lose the compensation. We will give €20,000 per pylon. If you don’t sign it, you will get nothing and we will still put up the pylon,” contended Mr Reilly.

“When that day comes, we will be taking a challenge on it,” he said.

Political row

Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan, meanwhile, continues to reject calls for a fresh independent report on the technical feasibility and cost of undergrounding the lines.“I do not intend ordering a further such review,” the Minister stated in the Dáil on December 15 last in response to Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy on the issue.

It puts Minister Ryan on a collision course with Oireachtas members from Cavan-Monaghan and Meath, meaning the interconnector issue could become a redline issue for the current Government.

Fianna Fáil’s Brendan Smith said he is opposed to the project as it stands and has raised community concerns at Fianna Fáil Parliamentary Party meetings, with the Taoiseach and Minister Ryan.

“The undergrounding option must be properly examined and the concerns of local communities must not be dismissed,” said Deputy Smith. “There has been a clear and consistent message from communities North and South that, if this project is to proceed, it needs to have buy-in from communities and local landowners.

“None of us are against the further development of an all-island electricity market. If this project is to proceed, the transmission lines should be put underground and I have emphasised that clearly in Dáil Éireann on numerous occasions,” he added.

Deputy Smith said that the underground alternative had “never been given an objective analysis by Eirgrid or the Department”.

When asked if he was prepared to resign the party whip over the issue, Deputy Smith replied: “What would that achieve? ... No, I don’t see that happening.”

His colleague Deputy Niamh Smyth says she has also consistently raised the issue and asked Minister Ryan for a review.

“I am very mindful that any commitments we made prior to the 2020 election, should be lived up to and I will do everything in my power that they are,” she told theCelt.

“You would really hope that a Green Minister would take the landscape, the heritage, the valuation of farm land and homes would be crucial to any decision in relation to putting them [lines] over ground or underground.

“We all know the proper way to address this is undergrounding the lines. We made a commitment while in opposition and we should live up to it and I am committed to delivering that review through Micheál Martin, with the co-operation of Eamon Ryan,” added Deputy Smyth.

Fine Gael Minister Heather Humphreys also said she would continue to raise landowners’ concerns with the relevant ministers.“The North-South Interconnector has been talked about since 2007. It is now 14 years later and the project has yet to commence – that in itself tells its own story.It remains incumbent on Eirgrid to engage and consult comprehensively with the impacted landowners in relation to their concerns,” she said.

NEPPC is irate that other major electrical infrastructure are being undergrounded, while the people of Cavan, Monaghan and Meath are being treated differently.

For example, the Celtic Interconnector project is coming from France into Cork and going underground for 60-70km to a sub station before connecting with existing lines.

“The second one, which is more annoying for us, is the proposed new Meath/Kildare line. It is joining the original line from Woodlands in Dunboyne and down to Kildare and it is about 65kms long. Lo and behold Eirgrid is saying that four of the five best options include putting it underground.

“It is the exact same scale of line as the North South Interconnector,” alleged Mr O’Reilly.