The main infrastructure project involved the construction of the 200 meter deep water quay at the State Port and Ferry Port on Rossaveal Island, Connemara, Co Galway.
The project, intended as a strategic hub for the floating offshore wind sector with the potential for 900 jobs, was announced by Agriculture Minister Charlie McConalogue in February 2022.
Although the project is already nearing completion, it will bring the Port of Connemara “closer in line” with the main fishing ports of Killybegs in Donegal and Castletownbere in west Cork.
However, the environmental owner who successfully stopped the project spoke out Irish independent “Maybe they should take it all down.”
Peter Sweetman, of Wild Ireland Defense CLG, replied: “So what?” when asked if he took into account the fact that the project is already 75% complete. “It's not done. Maybe they should delete it all. It is European law,” he said.
“What they did was illegal. The council offered no defense. There was an extension of time for the planning, which was done illegally.
“They did not take the Habitats Directive into account. They tried to circumvent the law.”
Asked whether he accepted that the pier extension was crucial for the future of renewable energy, he said: “It's not our problem”.
“Renewable energy must comply with the law. It is not exempt from the law.
“The minister's request for a term extension was unlawful. Galway County Council granted permission and we have judicially reviewed that decision because it was not in accordance with the law. It's not our problem.”
The Department of Agriculture and the Marine confirmed that all work at the site should “immediately cease” on legal advice.
“The ministry signed a €30 million contract with Ward & Burke Construction Ltd (contractor) on 22 December 2022 for the construction of the deepwater wuay at the Ros an Mhíl (Rossaveal) Fishery Harbor Centre, Co Galway,” the ministry said. “The planning permission for this project was granted in 2018 and will expire in July 2023, before the works would have been completed.
“Consultant engineers from the department prepared and applied for an extension of Galway County Council's planning authority in May 2023. A five-year extension was granted on July 11, 2023.
“In November 2023, the department received papers from the Chief State Solicitors Office regarding a judicial review of the decision to extend the planning period. The applicant is Wild Ireland Defense CLG, the respondent is Galway County Council. This department is a reporting party.
“The Department understands that the matter was last before the court on May 14 and at that hearing the court directed Galway County Council to set out its position in writing and submit it to the court within a week .
“Galway County Council has confirmed that it would not defend the procedure. The legal advice received by the department is therefore that work on site must be stopped immediately.
“While the department's legal advisors consider the best way forward, it is likely that substitute consent will be required. It is the department's objective to complete the project and we are working closely with our consulting engineers to ensure that the required steps are taken as quickly as possible.”
Senator Lisa Chambers, Fianna Fáil European election candidate for Midlands-North West, described the situation as “ridiculous”. “The development of our ports and ports is vital, not only in tackling climate change and harnessing offshore renewable energy, but also as key infrastructure for our coastal communities,” Ms Chambers said.
“The fact that environmental blockades can hold back such vital development is a ridiculous situation.
“We need to reassess our green policies and overhaul our planning system. This is exactly what the Planning and Development Bill currently being passed by the Oireachtas aims to address. However, there is great urgency to get this bill passed before the summer.
“Our coastal communities and the future of our sustainable energy capabilities depend on these developments. We cannot afford to let bureaucratic obstacles stand in the way of progress.”
Fianna Fáil TD Éamon Ó Cuív said a “good faith” error had been made in granting the expansion planning grant.
“The basic infrastructure in Connemara resembles roads and many developments seem to be held back by the environment,” he said.
“So much work has been done and a lot of it was done when the original planning was done, so that cannot be touched.
“I think it's ridiculous that we have a pier that's three-quarters of the way built.
“There always has to be a balance, but it seems to me that the balance has gone completely the other way and has become mired in an absolute morass of bureaucracy.”