Taoiseach Micheál Martin is being urged to intervene “immediately” in the dispute over a proposed Glanbia cheese manufacturing facility.
Independent TD Carol Nolan raised the issue in the Dáil today (Wednesday, March 30), afterwards saying that: “There is a long and acrimonious history between An Taisce and various sectors of the rural community and rural-based industries.”
Environmental lobby group An Taisce has launched a judicial review against An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant planning permission for the facility in Belview on the Kilkenny-Waterford border.
Unfortunately, it has to be said that much of this is too often down to the fact that An Taisce does not seem to recognise any limit to its remit.
The Laois-Offaly TD claimed that An Taisce “has a reputation for policy over-reach and attempts to dictate government and rural policy rather than attempt to collaborate with farmers and the agri-sector”.
“That simply has to end,” Nolan insisted.
She added: “Many young farmers in particular will be severely disadvantaged by this latest move by the environmental body.
They seem to think that no one else can make any credible assessment around the need for balance between agri-food outputs and respect for the environment.
During the Dáil debate, the Taoiseach accepted that the use of such judicial reviews is becoming problematic and that they would need to be reviewed.
However, Deputy Nolan argued: “For now, we need decisive levels of intervention by this government.
“That is the only way we can take his government’s commitments to grow the rural economy seriously,” she concluded.