Anger building over Eirgrid's use of land entrances
A LOCAL councillor says landowners in the path of the proposed north-south interconnector have reported to him how Eirgrid is using entrances to land that the company has “neither permission nor planning permission for”.
Cllr Clifford Kelly (FF) has asked Cavan County Council to raise the issue with the electricity company and for elected members to “watch very carefully” any entrance used by Eirgrid for which they don’t have the relevant permission.
Cllr Kelly told the Celt: “There has been an awful lot of activity in the Muff and Corlea areas and the situation is they are checking entrances before they start work.
“But there are an awful lot of entrances that they’re checking out and getting ready to move onto people’s land that they have neither permission nor planning permission for,” he asserted.
“Local people really and truly are very uptight about the whole thing. This is going to be a very, very serious situation if it continues,” he warned.
The North-South Interconnector was described by the then-Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, Darragh Calleary, as “the number one priority electricity transmission project over the coming years”.
The installation of 407 overground pylons across Cavan, Monaghan, Meath, Armagh, and Tyrone, is advancing to the site phase despite ongoing opposition.
In March, EirGrid wrote to affected landowners stating that ESB, as owners of the electricity grid, had decided to progress the project using its statutory wayleave powers for the placement of cables and pylons on the required lands.
Work on the 138km North-South Interconnector was scheduled to begin construction on the Republic of Ireland side by June 2026, with the full cross-border link targeted for energisation in October 2031.
The project once delivered is projected to deliver cost savings of €100M per annum to households and businesses across the island of Ireland.
Calling on Cavan County Council to “continue engagement” with Eirgrid over these alleged trespasses on private land, Cllr Kelly said: “There’s no doubt about it, if this continues it’s going to cause serious trouble because farmers and landowners are not going to let themselves be bullied.”
During the July meeting of Cavan County Council, Cllr Kelly asked the council’s Director of Services, Mr Paddy Connaughton, if he has received any updates from Eirgrid.
Mr Connaughton said he “just received in recent weeks” correspondence from the firm.
“There is a lot in it. I will get back to you with an update,” he told the councillor.
“There’s a lot of anger building up again, no doubt about it,” Clifford Kelly observed. “Any area where they have no planning, they won’t be let through.”
* This article was published with support from the Local Democracy Scheme