Cllr welcomes clarity over biomethane strategy

CycleØ “committed” to delivering Cootehill plant.

Sinn Féin councillor Stiofán Conaty has cautiously welcomed clarification from the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment regarding Ireland’s biomethane strategy, while criticising the handling of a proposed anaerobic digester (AD) in Cootehill.

Back in January Cllr Conaty raised concerns about the removal of planning guidelines from the draft strategy and argued that local communities have not been treated as key stakeholders.

The company behind the AD plans for Cootehill- CycleØ- insists it remains “committed” to delivering the plant and is continuing to progress its planning application.

Now the department has responded, stating as the National Biomethane Strategy moves through its implementation phase, it is “important” to the department that communities which are “local to new AD developments feature as stakeholders and that their concerns are addressed.”

However, Conaty questioned how these measures apply to the Cootehill project, and citing strong local opposition over environmental risks, traffic, and scale.

While acknowledging biomethane’s benefits for rural economies previously, he stressed that proper siting and consultation is vital.

“I would call on the company to do the right thing and to share their plans for that particular location,” he said. “Because it was always the wrong location- in the middle of Cootehill town.”