Labour ministers use wind-farms as political football – Dunne

Cllr Davy Dunne of Sinn Féin has slated two Labour party minsters for their failure to act to protect the interests of communities under siege from wind-farm developments. He was speaking in the wake of recent reports of in-fighting among Labour ministers and senators over planning guidelines.

Cllr Dunne said: “The new guidelines on planning of wind-farms are long overdue. In Tipperary there are a large number of turbines, with the most recent proposal suggested to be placed on an archaeologically sensitive site on Curraghdobbin hill.”

“Residents of nearby Faugheen and Newtown Upper could do with knowing what the new guidelines are going to be. But today we learn that instead of putting their energy into getting those published the Labour party are using the wind-farming question as a political football.”

“Minister Alex White is being blamed for dragging his feet on this to gain votes in South County Dublin. Minister Alan Kelly on the other hand has not published the rules drafted by his department. And along the way, Labour Senator John Whelan has started pointing fingers and stirring things up.”

“The sooner these pretend-left politicians start looking out for the interests of rural Ireland, the better. Wind-farming is one part of a complex energy security issue that needs to be approached in a fair and rational way. It’s obvious that these Labour people don’t understand that, and think that tossing the question around rather than doing something about it is OK.”

“I’m very impressed with the work done by the Suir Valley Environmental Action Group in protecting their tranquil townland; but I can’t say the same about Kelly and White.”

“What bothers me most is that these lads seem to be wasting their energy rather than working to produce guidelines that will meet both the needs of the communities who will use the wind energy generated, and the communities who are expected to host the farms.”

“What hope have Labour of coming up with a sensible energy policy under these circumstances?”