Local authorities will take the Derrybrien landslide in Galway into account when considering planning applications for windfarms, a Government minister has said.
The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Mr Ahern, said that the Derrybrien landslide in south Galway is a planning issue, and one for the local authority to handle. However, local authorities may take the Derrybrien "and other" experiences into account when handling planning applications for wind energy projects, he said.
The Minister made his comments while attending a wind energy conference in Sligo yesterday.
Galway County Council has confirmed that it is investigating a "minor" land slip at a wind energy project in Kilchreest, Co Galway, which took place several weeks ago. There was no injury or damage to people or property, the council has said. The Green Party and local residents in the south Galway area have called for an independent investigation into the Derrybrien landslide on October 16th, which took place during construction work on the €60 million windfarm for the ESB subsidiary, Hibernian Wind Power in the Slieve Aughty mountains.
A spokesman for the Minister emphasised that no definite cause had, as yet, been established for the landslide. However, Galway County Council said yesterday that it would not permit any resumption of work on site by Hibernian Wind Power until it was satisfied that the area was safe. It expects to receive an assessment report from its own consultants on November 25th.
Hibernian Wind Power also confirmed that no work would resume until all investigations had been completed.
The local authority has approved this week's reopening of the Gort-Portumna road, which has been closed for several weeks. Four dams have been built, and construction of drainage channels and remedial works is continuing, Mr Donal O'Donoghue, Galway county manager, said.
A survey presented yesterday to the Minister at the wind energy conference, which was hosted by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), states that over 80 per cent of people are favourably disposed towards the construction of more windfarms in Ireland, while over two-thirds are willing to have a windfarm built in their locality.
The SEI survey was carried out before the Derrybrien landslide - which local residents have attributed to work on the ESB wind farm. The study found that half of Irish adults surveyed were aware of the term "renewable energy", with wind energy easily the best-known type of renewable energy. However, it found that although renewable energy sources, including wind energy, are well known, awareness of their contribution to the total fuel supply in Ireland remains low.
It also found that support for renewable energy was higher in areas where windfarms are planned or operational, and it found that those with direct experience of windfarms in their locality do not, in general, consider that they have had any adverse impact on the scenic beauty and wildlife of the area, or on tourism.
Less than three per cent of residents made formal objections to existing windfarms at the time that planning permission was applied for. There are 29 operational windfarms currently in Ireland.
