Sinn Féin climate action spokesperson David Cullinane today slammed this and previous governments for their failure to undertake an environmental impact report for a windfarm in Galway, and for ignoring a European Court of Justice ruling for eleven years.

Deputy Cullinane said:

“It is shocking that the State is to be fined €5 million and €15,000 per day for failing to undertake an environmental impact survey on a Galway windfarm and refusing to follow a European Court of Justice ruling from 2008.

“Time and again we see government departments and semi-State bodies ignoring environmental procedures even in the face of court decisions.

“The ESB has leaked thousands of kilos of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere at Moneypoint since 2013, but failed to inform the Environmental Protection Agency.

“This is on top of the one million litres of oil from ESB heavy-duty electrical cables that leaked out from under the streets of Dublin. 

“These leaks only came out due to a protected disclosure made by an individual.

“Serious questions need to be asked as to the final cost of the government’s folly.

“How much was spent on legal fees for the 2008 and 2019 cases?

“Why did successive government ministers refuse to follow EU law on these matters?

“What has been the environmental cost of these failures since 2008?

“I will be putting these questions to the Minister and seeking answers as a matter of urgency.

“It is time the Minister started taking environmental issues seriously, instead of paying lip service to a Just Transition as is currently the case with ESB workers in the midlands.”