1 February 2001 Edition
ESB under fire over Monaghan mast
Residents of the Killygoan estate in Monaghan are concerned about a possible health risk posed by an ESB mast on the hill overlooking Monaghan Town. The mast was originally erected by the ESB for inter-company communication in the 1960s, long before planning permission for masts was a legal requirement, but in more recent times the semi-state body has allowed Eircell and Esat to hang low intensity radiation telecommunications equipment on the mast.
Residents are concerned because the mast is directly above their houses and a stone's throw from the local school.
Residents have reported unusual levels of sleeplessness and anxiety and a low humming noise, including the vibration of household objects, which they had never witnessed before. They are certain the Eircell and Esat equipment overlooking them on the ESB tower is the cause. Local people have signed a petition calling on the ESB to get Esat and Eircell to take them down.
On a proposal from Sinn Féin Councillor Owen Smyth, ESB representatives attended the 14 January meeting of Monaghan UDC to explain their position to councillors. Seamus Hughes, an operations manager with the ESB, said the ESB is quite satisfied as to the health and safety aspects of their mast.
Sinn Féin councillors Owen Smyth, Pádraigín Uí Mhurchadha and Sean Conlon were unconvimced, and explained to the ESB the considerable fears of the Killygoan residents and their determination to see the equipment taken down.
Smyth, who is also a member of the Board of Management of Beechill College, pointed out that there was genuine fear among the people living in Killygoan. ``Our school, a secondary school with over 500 pupils, is directly under the mast. Children are especially vulnerable to the radiation emissions of telecommunications masts.
``There is no question that had a private company applied to put up such a mast now, it would have been refused planning permission. It was utterly wrong that the ESB, against the wishes of local people, should take advantage, almost by a sleight of hand, of this planning permission exemption.''
Smyth pointed out that the ESB has a duty of care to its customers, which far exceeds any contractual obligation to Esat or Eircell. He asked the representatives from the ESB to take the residents' and councillors' views on the mast attachments back to senior management in the ESB.
Seamus Hughes from the ESB explained that the minister had requested the ESB to share their mast, and that the ESB had felt obliged to comply with his request, but he promised that the ESB would address the issues the UDC had raised.
Eileen Mongan, secretary of the residents' group outlined how they had fought for new houses and the community hall and green sports area, situated directly below the ESB mast, which is now under construction.
``The community has had a real input into the design of this development, the housing density levels, the green spaces. And we've won a community hall for a meeting place, with space for some of the projects we've wanted for the residents here. And now there is the danger of this mast. It has to go.''
Residents are concerned because the mast is directly above their houses and a stone's throw from the local school.
Residents have reported unusual levels of sleeplessness and anxiety and a low humming noise, including the vibration of household objects, which they had never witnessed before. They are certain the Eircell and Esat equipment overlooking them on the ESB tower is the cause. Local people have signed a petition calling on the ESB to get Esat and Eircell to take them down.
On a proposal from Sinn Féin Councillor Owen Smyth, ESB representatives attended the 14 January meeting of Monaghan UDC to explain their position to councillors. Seamus Hughes, an operations manager with the ESB, said the ESB is quite satisfied as to the health and safety aspects of their mast.
Sinn Féin councillors Owen Smyth, Pádraigín Uí Mhurchadha and Sean Conlon were unconvimced, and explained to the ESB the considerable fears of the Killygoan residents and their determination to see the equipment taken down.
Smyth, who is also a member of the Board of Management of Beechill College, pointed out that there was genuine fear among the people living in Killygoan. ``Our school, a secondary school with over 500 pupils, is directly under the mast. Children are especially vulnerable to the radiation emissions of telecommunications masts.
``There is no question that had a private company applied to put up such a mast now, it would have been refused planning permission. It was utterly wrong that the ESB, against the wishes of local people, should take advantage, almost by a sleight of hand, of this planning permission exemption.''
Smyth pointed out that the ESB has a duty of care to its customers, which far exceeds any contractual obligation to Esat or Eircell. He asked the representatives from the ESB to take the residents' and councillors' views on the mast attachments back to senior management in the ESB.
Seamus Hughes from the ESB explained that the minister had requested the ESB to share their mast, and that the ESB had felt obliged to comply with his request, but he promised that the ESB would address the issues the UDC had raised.
Eileen Mongan, secretary of the residents' group outlined how they had fought for new houses and the community hall and green sports area, situated directly below the ESB mast, which is now under construction.
``The community has had a real input into the design of this development, the housing density levels, the green spaces. And we've won a community hall for a meeting place, with space for some of the projects we've wanted for the residents here. And now there is the danger of this mast. It has to go.''