Friends of the Irish Environment have condemned the Government for authorising the ESB to start construction work on two new peat-fired power stations in the midlands without waiting for the outcome of a High Court action.
FIE has sought a judicial review of the planning permissions granted by An Bord Pleanála for the two power stations at Lanesboro and Shannonbridge on the grounds that they breach the EU's Habitats and Environmental Impact Assessment directives.
Last December the European Commission issued a "reasoned opinion" saying that the failure to subject peat extraction to the EIA process amounted to a failure by Ireland to fulfil obligations under the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.
"This reasoned opinion is the last step before bringing Ireland to the European Court of Justice for the second time for failing to apply this directive to the destruction of peatlands," a FIE spokesman said yesterday.
He said FIE had learned that, in the middle of the general election campaign, the Cabinet decided to take unspecified measures to ensure that construction could start on the two power plants notwithstanding the legal challenge in the High Court.
"The only measure we can imagine in this regard is a guarantee to the ESB that the taxpayer will foot the bill if it finds it has built a power plant which then is declared illegal", the spokesman said, adding that FIE could obtain no information on the matter.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, welcomed the decision taken by the Cabinet on May 8th, saying it meant there was "no obstacle to the commencement of construction work on the new power stations regardless of the judicial review proceedings".
Mr Cowen, who represents Laois-Offaly, said these proceedings had "threatened to seriously delay construction work on the power stations" . He believed it was "critical to maintain the momentum for these large-scale projects to proceed at this time".
He was grateful to the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, "for her early intervention to ensure that there is no undue delay", adding that he was glad to support the measures put forward to allow work to start at an early date.
However, the spokesman for FIE said it had every confidence that the High Court would vindicate citizens' rights to challenge decisions and believed the court would enforce European law and protect the remaining Irish peatland habitats".
A spokesman for the Department of Public Enterprise said the issue of indemnifying the ESB did not arise. The effect of the Cabinet's decision was that construction costs would be treated as additional under the ESB's public service obligation.
He explained that the ESB was already reimbursed for the extra cost of generating electricity from peat as it was Government policy to ensure diversity of fuel supply by using this indigenous resource.
