'It's the end of Leitrim' - Councillor warns that 'government is doing enormous damage'

A Leitrim councillor has spoken out about his fears that if the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill is brought into law, Leitrim's future could be in jeopardy. 

Cllr Eddie Mitchell told the Leitrim Observer: "This government are doing enormous damage and our TDs are backing them. This is a government that is supported by three of the four local TDs and Marian Harkin plays a central role in all of that. You can't have a government that is not being held to account and at the moment, it seems that we don't have any representatives from this area and that they represent the government and the government represent interests outside the country." 

Plans to fast-track permission for a floating gas terminal are being heavily criticised as an Oireachtas committee begins hearings on proposed legislation to support the move with environmental groups and climate campaigners describing the project as a “Trojan horse” for new fossil fuel developments.

Their immediate concerns centre on proposals to bypass normal planning and consent procedures through enactment of the Strategic Gas Emergency Reserve Bill.

READ MORE: 'Larry Murrin provides no answers to farmers and must resign' - Martin Kenny, Sligo/Leitrim TD

Minister for Energy Darragh O'Brien wants to enact the law to allow him to make decisions on the planning permission, marine and pipeline consent and any compulsory purchase orders needed for the project; a decision usually made by An Coimisiún Pleanála the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority and the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

Cllr Mitchell added: "The government are trying to say that if we want to build a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal, climate doesn't matter. We can lead by legislation so that climate impacts won't be considered."

He added: "The decisions that are being made now will be locked in with sunset clauses so the next government can't change them. We have a government that is doing enormous harm."

He said the government are bringing forward legislation that will "make it impossible for us to protect Leitrim in the future. It is all happening at pace so that people can't keep up with it."

Cllr Mitchell, who is also a spokesperson for the Love Leitrim Community Group, said that "fracked gas coming into the Shannon estuary is the end of Leitrim. They want to bring in that gas to supply energy for US data centres. There is a guarantee associated with that that we will meet that demand. The Americans won't keep supplying the world with energy if they need it for their own data centres. The question will then be 'Why did we bring in such damaging gas?' and the answer will be that 'If we get it from Leitrim, it will be much less damaging than getting it from America'. That's the future for Leitrim that is being created by this government."

He went on to say that mining could also be an issue for the county. "We've given all our decision-making on mining to Europe and Europe wants to get access to rare earths and gold. Where will they start? Places like Leitrim because they want to introduce those extractive industries here to break our backs on fracking. It won't end in Leitrim but we are the people who stood up against fracking. The people who voted against fracking, which was nearly everyone in Leitrim; their champions were people like Marian Harkin."