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Connacht Tribune

Varadkar tells ESB: “Go to court or demolish Derrybrien windfarm”

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Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has told the ESB to either “go to court or demolish” the controversial Derrybrien Wind Farm in South Galway – where more than €13 million in fines have already been clocked up against the State.

The Tánaiste said the saga in the Sliabh Aughty mountains had gone on too long and the ESB now needs to resolve the issue quickly.

A massive landslide occurred during construction of the 70-turbine farm in 2003, pushing thousands of cubic metres of peat down the mountain.

In 2019, the EU’s Court of Justice found Ireland was in breach of environmental safeguards in relation to the construction of the wind farm by a subsidiary company of the ESB.

A €5m fine was imposed by the EU in 2020, as well as daily fines of €15,000 since – the total has now reached more than €13m.

The matter was raised in the Dáil again last week by Galway East TD Ciarán Cannon, who sought clarification on whether the State would be paying the fine on behalf of the ESB.

“In 2003 there was a massive landslide associated with that development. There have been ongoing and significant environmental transgressions ever since, to the extent that since 2019 the European Commission has been fining Ireland €15,000 per day for those transgressions.

“We have paid a cumulative fine of €13.2 million. Recently, An Bord Pleanála refused what is essentially retrospective consent for this development.

“Do we intend to continue paying this fine of €15,000 per day on behalf of the ESB? Bearing in mind that An Bord Pleanála has refused consent, is this now an unauthorised development?”

Mr Varadkar said the ESB needs to make a decision on the future of Derrybrien.

“This is a long-running saga and has been going on for far too long. I am a big fan of the ESB as a company but it has not covered itself in glory when it comes to this issue.

“A decision has to be made by ESB. It has to take a case to the court or demolish and remove the wind farm. It is one or the other. It is a decision for that company, but it has to resolve this quickly,” the Tánaiste told the Dáil.

Deputy Cannon later said: “We cannot continue to pay a fine of €15,000 per day, we cannot continue to see damage being done to the local environment, in particular the major water runoff that occurs every time we have a few days of rain.

“It’s safe to say at this point that the development of this wind farm has exacerbated the flooding problems that have plagued South Galway for decades. The ESB is a very reputable semi-state body doing great work in developing renewable energy at home and abroad, but in this instance they have failed to act professionally. They need to learn from their mistakes.”

Following the EU ruling in 2019, Galway County Council had told the ESB to seek Substitute Consent from An Bord Pleanála.

Last month, An Bord Pleanála refused to grant ‘Substitute Consent’ (effectively a process to retrospectively secure planning permission and regularise planning relating to environmental impact issues) for the wind farm.

The Board ruled that remedial works carried out since the landslide did not “fully mitigate the significant environmental effects” that occurred. It said the extent of the damage was “clear, profound and unacceptable” and cannot be fully mitigated, and refused the ESB’s application.

Connacht Tribune

West has lower cancer survival rates than rest

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Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.

A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.

For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.

These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.

“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.

In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.

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Connacht Tribune

Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents

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Galway's Aaron Niland is chased by Cillian O'Callaghan of Cork during Saturday's All-Ireland Minor Hurling semi-final at Semple Stadium. Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.

Galway 3-18

Cork 1-10

NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.

The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.

Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.

Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.

Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.

Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety

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Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche

GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.

Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.

Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.

“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.

“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.

He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.

“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.

“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.

He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.

The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.

“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App

Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.

Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite  HERE.

Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.

 

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