Democracy wins the day

TWENTY years ago, the Office of Public Works unveiled plans to build a £3million interpretative centre at Mullaghmore as part of the establishment of a national park in the Burren.

Unlike all citizens, back then it was not obligatory for the OPW to go through the planning process. The only compulsion on the state body was that they consult with the local authorities.
Even that appeared to be nothing more than a sop to give local councillors the platform to espouse their views on the merits or otherwise of the project. The council chamber became a talking shop because at the end of the day, the OPW wasn’t compelled to act on or take the advice proffered by the county council.
In essence, the OPW could railroad the development through without consensus or without the preparation of an Environmental Impact Assessment, even though the Burren was considered an area of international botanical importance.
It was a controversial and hugely emotive development that had environmentalists enraged and local communities divided. It led to the formation of the Burren Action Group and seven members of the group pursued the legal route, initiating legal proceedings against the commissioners of the OPW by seeking leave for a High Court Judicial Review and requesting an injunction prohibiting development on the controversial site.
The main planks of their court challenge was that the OPW had no statutory power to construct a visitor centre and that it was constitutionally invalid that the OPW was not subject to the planning act in the same way as members of the general public.
When the case came before the courts in December 1992, the plaintiffs were granted a judicial review and were initially refused an injunction that was later granted.
Thus ensued a protracted legal wrangle before finally in May 2000, some nine years later, Minister Síle de Valera accepted that the partially completed development on site was illegal and that the site had to be restored to its previous condition. The group had won a landmark decision.
By then, a car park and a major part of the sewerage treatment system had been installed, the foundations of the visitor centre were laid and walls to the first floor level constructed.
Millions of pounds had been buried underground and what was left was a scar on the unique karst landscape of the Burren.
However, a different and more open approach was adopted last week for another potentially emotive project for the Burren.
Cork-based Organic Power Limited unveiled its plans for a €300m to €400m seawater pumped hydroelectric energy storage scheme, with the capacity to produce 836MW in power (marginally less that the county’s largest coal-burning station at Moneypoint) and a visitor centre at Gleninagh.
They, however, had the courtesy of affording the local community the opportunity to have its say and director of Organic Power, Maurice McCarthy, said the project would only go ahead if the company received the backing of the community. 
Democracy reigned and when locals cast their votes, the project was given an overwhelming thumbs down.
Indeed, some people were extremely sceptical of the announcement that a financial package that would be made available to the community should the project receive favour. The company was willing to provide community-project funding every year for 50 years of €100,000 per year for the pre-commissioning phase, rising to a probable level of €600,000 per year during the operational phase.
Those in the opposition camp viewed the disclosure of the financial incentives as an inducement to sway the undecided in their vote. When locals did go to the ballot box in St John’s Hall, almost 90% were opposed to the project.
Chairman of the Ballyvaughan Community Development Group, Patrick O’Donoghue, said no amount of money would sway people in Ballyvaughan and Fanore from protecting the Burren.
“We have a duty of care to the Burren and we have chosen preservation over economic benefit,” he said.  
It seems lessons have been learned from the past. Locals had their say and democracy won the day.

Damage limitation
Two years ago, the maiden appearance of the then Táiniste Mary Coughlan in Shannon smacked of political point-scoring as she came the bearer of good news, 50 new jobs on the Free Zone.
Last week, it was the turn of her colleague, Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe to arrive in town and announce the creation, over a three year period, of 117 jobs at Genworth Financial.
Both ministerial visits coincided with the launch of Shannon Development’s annual reports and both visits may have been designed to take the heat off the company as regards their delivery of jobs, procurement of industrial investment and the performances of their flagship tourist attractions.
The slide was on during Minister Coughlan’s time and, unfortunately, with the economic slowdown that has crippled industry and investment, the slide has gathered pace. Shannon Development recorded a deficit in 2009 of €17.355m with a decrease in reserves of over €11m. The annual report indicated that its pre-tax loss increased by 233%, from €5.1m in 2008 to €17.3m to the end of December last. The losses were as a result of the collapse in the property market.
The poor showing is reflected in several strands of the company’s operations. The numbers employed in the Shannon Free Zone fell from 7,107 in 2008 to 6,320 last year, a drop of some 11%, while the numbers visiting the day attractions such as Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, for the corresponding period, dropped from 505,000 to 440,000. Furthermore, attendances at the medieval banquets and evening entertainment went from 93,053 to 73,485 in the same 12-month period.
Against a difficult business background last year, Shannon Development’s very existence came under threat with the McCarthy Report recommending its abolition. That suggestion was vigorously countered by chief executive Vincent Cunnane who said the government had nothing to gain by axing Shannon Development, as the company is self- financing and plays a significant role in acting as a west of Ireland counterpole to east coast enterprise developments.
Worryingly, though, is the fact the scenario painted then by Mr Cunnane has changed, changed utterly despite his assurances that the company has a new financial plan to address the deficit and they expect to get back to a balanced budget by 2013.
Chairman of the Mid-West Task Force Denis Brosnan stuck his oar in this week by saying he supported the abolition of Shannon Development and the Shannon Airport Authority with the establishment of a single authority in their place.
However, Enterprise Minister Batt O’Keeffe’s announcement that the future of Shannon Development is secure may be reassuring. But then, what values have political promises?