NI pylon approval a 'false dawn of hope' - protestors

The news that Northern Ireland's Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon, approved the North-South Interconnector yesterday was derided as “another false dawn of hope for the establishment” by the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign (NEPPC).

Padraig O’Reilly, of the NEPPC said approval “should not be equated with consent or progress”.

Minister Mallon granted planning permission for the Northern Ireland section of the North South Electricity Interconnector (NSI) yesterday (Monday). The announcement was welcomed by EirGrid, SONI and Environment Minister Eamon Ryan.

“When the dust settles the reality will need to dawn on those who have mismanaged this project for over 15 years that the approval is of little value when public opposition remains unchanged,” Mr O'Reilly said.

“All that the approval does is to confirm to the public that their rights and their constructive recommendations for an acceptable alternative are deemed irrelevant. This approval changes nothing on the ground. Approval for the ROI section was given in 2016. There has been no progress on the project in the intervening four years,” he said.

The NEPPC say there are a number of “significant procedural challenges” that remain to be addressed both in ROI and NI, including areas related to public consultation and human rights.

“Any potential benefits in the future are being wasted by EirGrid in the present, without approval. In July EirGrid has requested to the Regulator for an €80M (40%) increase per year in operational (day to day) costs, separate to its capital expenditure budget. In 2016-2020 the company spent €8M (1600%) more than its allowed budget on ‘selling and advertising’ and is looking for €15M more in 2021-2025,” the NEPPC spokesperson said.

Mr O'Reilly concluded by saying: “The NI approval is yet another opportunity wasted by the Establishment, who believe that the little people in the countryside don’t matter. The approach that EirGrid seems to be happy to contemplate is to threaten to force entry on to land. We will await their next move.”

To read about Eirgrid's reaction to the latest development in the story, click here.