LEGAL CHALLENGE TO PEAT POWER STATIONS WITHDRAWN

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday July 19, 2002 19:02 by Tony Lowes - Friends of the Irish Environment tony at eircom dot net Allihies, County Cork 027 - 73015

Government’s interference in judicial process

The Judicial Reviews taken by the environmental network Friends of the Irish Environment were yesterday withdrawn from the High Court. The actions were taken in April of this year against the decision of the Planning Appeals Board to grant permission for the proposed new peat powered stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesborough and against the licence issued by the Environmental Protection Agency for the project. The group stated its withdrawal was as a direct result of “the Government’s interference in the judicial process.” Mr Brian Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs announced on 8 May that measures to allow the ESB proceed with the building of new Power Stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesborough were formally approved by the Cabinet a decision which Green Party Leader called “contempt of Court”.

The Judicial Reviews taken by the environmental network Friends of the Irish Environment were yesterday withdrawn from the High Court.

The actions were taken in April of this year against the decision of the Planning Appeals Board to grant permission for the proposed new peat powered stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesborough and against the licence issued by the Environmental Protection Agency for the project.

The matter of substance in the legal proceedings was the failure of either the planning appeals board or the environmental protection agency to require an environmental impact assessment [EIA] of the extraction of peat.

The Government’s contention is that the extraction does not require an EIA as it predates the implementation of the EIA Directive in 1988.

The group stated its withdrawal was as a direct result of “the Government’s interference in the judicial process.”

Mr Brian Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs announced on 8 May that measures to allow the ESB proceed with the building of new Power Stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesborough were formally approved by the Cabinet.

Minister Cowen went on to say: "The decision taken today by the Cabinet, which I warmly welcome, means that there is no obstacle to the commencement of construction work on the new Power Stations regardless of the judicial review proceedings recently initiated in relation to planning permission. These proceedings had threatened to seriously delay construction work on the Power Stations.”

The effect of the Government decision was to ensure costs incurred by ESB would be treated as additional costs for the purposes of the Public Service Obligations Obligation [PSO – see note].

FIE’s statement drew attention to Trevor Sargent, the leader of the Green Party’s, subsequent statement that this decision made the Government “in my mind in contempt of Court.”

Work began on the construction earlier this month.

FIE’s said the cases they had taken “were no longer worth putting the Company at risk in the Irish Courts. We will, however, be pursuing the Government’s unauthorised extension of the PSO to the European authorities as an abuse of a national judiciary process”.

The Commission is investigating FIE’s complaints over the inadequate EIA of the power plants and has issued a Reasoned Opinion over Ireland’s failure under the EIAs legislation, the last step before a Judgement from the European Court.. The spokesperson for FIE said they were “determined to continue to fight the destruction of Ireland’s peatlands and the consequent damage to the global climate in breach of EU law.”

Attribution: Spokesperson

NOTE TO EDITORS

PSOs: The “Public Service Obligation” is an agreement approved by the EU last year allows the ESB to recoup the uneconomical cost of the production of electricity by peat from the consumers as a surcharge on each bill.

The PSO was given on the grounds of “national security”, a deregulation that can be invoked by which a member state may source 15% of its national fuel supply from national sources. Ireland currently produces 7% of its electricity from peat.

See also our website: http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.org