West Clare councillors have raised concerns over the lack of adequate public consultation and strategic planning in relation to the Sceirde Rocks Windfarm Development, which is currently under review under An Bord Pleanála (ABP) planning application.
Independent councillor, Ian Lynch in calling for fair consultation and transparency in the development has urged ABP to defer approval of the project until meaningful consultation with Clare communities has taken place, a comprehensive traffic management plan is developed, and a fair allocation of community funding is ensured.
While the proposed offshore windfarm aims to contribute to Ireland’s renewable energy targets, significant shortcomings in the planning and consultation process must be addressed before approval is granted, according to Cllr Lynch.
Sceirde Rocks is the first commercial-scale off-shore wind project on Ireland’s west coast, targeting completion by 2030.
Consisting of 30 wind turbines, it will have the capacity to power in the region of 350,000 homes when completed. Although it will be located off the Connemara coast in County Galway, the cable route will go through West Clare.
Cllr Lynch criticised the applicant for failing to conduct meaningful public consultation with wider communities in Clare, claiming consultation events have predominantly taken place in Galway, and there has been little to no meaningful engagement with the residents and businesses impacted along the cable route in County Clare.
“This failure has denied these communities the opportunity to make clear, informed submissions on the planning application. The applicant must ensure that all impacted communities are properly consulted before this project proceeds,” he said.
The draft Clare County Council’s Chief Executive’s report to ABP on the proposed 30 offshore wind turbine generators has now been prepared and the deadline for submission is March 28.
Following a recent presentation by the council’s planning section to councillors, concerns were raised at Monday’s March meeting of the local authority by West Clare councillors about the cabling coming into the Moneypoint Power Station.
Councillors at the meeting questioned what guarantee exists to ensure Clare gets its fair share of the €3.5m community fund promised, and expressed their concerns the county will be perceived as a soft touch.
Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) highlighted how tens of kilometres of road will need repair after cables are put into the ground saying he is concerned about the cost involved.
Cllr Michael Shannon (FF) questioned if the local authority will be collecting rates in relation to the line and substations saying a mechanism should be put in place.
“We are talking about a multi-million gigawatt development,” he said.
“Yes, we are talking about lovely community funds, but West Clare needs the funding.”
“We need to reinstate that amount of money that was collected in rates from Moneypoint. We need to insure County Clare and West Clare get its money worth in relation to it.”
Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) said Clare should be looking for 35% of the Community Benefit Fund due to the significant disruption with around 700 vehicles set to travel through the region each day during construction.
She expressed her concern the local authority may not invest in the region’s “below standard” roads because they know they will be disrupted anyway, and will be reconstructed afterwards.
Cllr Lynch also raised the imbalance in community funding allocations as a “major concern”.
Sharon Dolan D’Arcy covers West Clare news. After completing a masters in journalism at University of Galway, Sharon worked as a court reporter at the Sligo Weekender. She was also editor of the Athenry News and Views.