Clare County Council is being urged to be “stronger” in its condemnation of a controversial water supply project.
A report compiled by the council’s chief executive and presented to elected members this week states the proposed pipeline between the River Shannon and the Greater Dublin Area offers “no direct water supply benefit to Clare”.
The €6 billion plan would see a 170-kilometre pipeline run from the Lower River Shannon at the Parteen Basin to Dublin to meet a deficit in the region’s supply.
It’s estimated an average of 2% of the Shannon’s average flow would be abstracted annually, working out at a maximum of 300 mega litres per day.
A submission to the application penned by Clare’s local elected representatives argues the plan presents “credible risks” to the integrity of several natura sites within the Shannon basin.
It also says the “hydrological and ecological impacts have not been ruled out beyond reasonable scientific doubt”, and that the environmental impact assessment process may be “legally deficient”.
Killaloe Fianna Fáil Councillor Tony O’Brien believes it will serve Dublin at the expense of Clare.
While minimal works related to the project would take place on the ground in Clare, a report compiled by Clare County Council Chief Executive Gordon Daly claims the implications arising from the development “present some concerns” for the county.
He’s claimed there’s “no water supply proposal or direct benefit of the scheme to County Clare” which he’s branded a “missed opportunity” potentially resulting in tourism, agricultural and environmental issues.
He’s also noted it’s inappropriacy in the context of ongoing supply limitations in the likes of Mountshannon, Tuamgraney, Scarriff, O’Brien’s Bridge and Whitegate.
Additionally, he’s criticised the five-year timeframe and five-kilometre radius of a proposed Community Gain Investment Fund, and has requested a public oral hearing on the development.
Clonlara planning consultant, Independent Councillor Michael Begley, says while he acknowledges the chief executive is “constrained” in the language he’s allowed to use, the report is too “soft”.
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