On Saturday last a sub committee of the working group comprising of Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD, Cathal Boylan MLA (Armagh) along with Councillors Matt Carthy (Monaghan) and Gerard Paul White (Armagh) met to discuss upcoming priorities. The Sinn Féin group have also arranged to meet the Anti Monaghan Anti Pylon committee and SEAT (Safe Electricity in Armagh and Tyrone). It is expected that they will also meet with the Meath based NEPP in the coming weeks.
Sinn Féin have outlined as their immediate priorities:
- Placing pressure on Fine Gael to live up to the pre-election commitments to compensate local communities for their costs associated with the first An Bord Pleanála hearing.
- Trying to secure a united all-party front in opposition to the ‘over-grounding’ of the inter-connector at the public hearings in the six counties.
- Outlining the case for undergrounding to the Northern Minister for Environment, Alex Attwood, who will have ultimate say in the planning process in the six counties.
- Pressing the Fine Gael/ Labour government to follow the lead of other states who have determined that all future high-voltage power lines be under-grounded.
The working group have outlined that Sinn Féin remains the only party, North or South, that has adopted as official policy, the position that the North South Inter-connector can only proceed if it is under-grounded and they have called on other parties to follow suit.
