Eirgrid have responded to those who made a Submission on Grid Link Project, the letter and attachment PDF are below.
Dear Mr. O’Reilly,
I am writing to you on behalf of EirGrid in response to your submission received as part of the third public consultation on the Grid Link Project.
Firstly, I would like to thank you for participating in the public consultation process.
Every submission was examined and treated separately to ensure that all of the feedback provided by members of the public was properly understood and evaluated.
I am attaching a short document which sets out EirGrid’s response to the key themes that emerged during the public consultation.
I would also like to inform you that in response to feedback received on the Grid Link and Grid West projects that people would like more consideration to be given to underground options, EirGrid is now conducting a detailed assessment of a fully underground option for both projects.
To provide the public with assurance that this analysis is carried out in a fair and objective manner, then Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Pat Rabbitte T.D., appointed an independent panel of experts, chaired by former Supreme Court Justice Catherine McGuinness.
The Independent Expert Panel will conduct a review of the overhead and underground options, with both options set out side-by-side in objective and comparable terms.
EirGrid welcomes the establishment of the Panel to ensure the analysis we are carrying out is done in an objective way and provides that reassurance to the general public.
The new focus on underground options and the appointment of the Independent Expert Panel were announced in January as part of a range of initiatives in response to public concerns about some of the Grid25 projects. The full list of initiatives is:
- A comprehensive analysis of undergrounding for the Grid Link and Grid West projects, which will be reviewed by the independent expert panel appointed by the Government;
- A commitment to adopt any new recommendations from the Department of the Environment’s expert review of Electric and Magnetic Fields and public health;
- Community gain funds for localities and a proximity allowance for residences located close to new pylons and substations;
- A commitment to address major issues that have arisen such as tourism, agriculture and equine concerns; and
- A commitment to review our consultation process to enhance future engagement.
Next Steps
EirGrid will work with the Government-appointed Independent Expert Panel to assess underground and overhead options before we proceed to the next stages of project development.
EirGrid is working to identify suitable underground and overhead routes for Grid Link and expects to go to public consultation on these later this year.
We do not intend to make a planning application for the Grid Link Project to An Bord Pleanála before 2016.
A report on all feedback received during the third period of consultation will be published in due course on the project website www.eirgridprojects.com/
If you require any further information or would like to discuss any aspect of the project, contact details for the project team are contained below.
Kind regards,
Grid Link Project Manager, EirGrid
P.O. Box 100,
Ballincollig,
Co. Cork.
PDF: EirGrid response to key themes on the Grid Link Project
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