LETTER TO IPCC SUPPORTERS
Re: Proposal to site an airstrip at Derrygimlagh in the Roundstone Bog
For Immediate Release 14th September
Dear Friend of the Bog
I am writing to ask you to help save one of Ireland's largest blanket bog wilderness areas at Roundstone Bog in Conamara.
Roundstone bog is some twenty-five square miles of lowland blanket bog, a mosaic of heathery knolls, quaking bog and about one hundred little lakes between Roundstone, Ballyconneely, Clifden and Ballynahinch. The bogs ecological importance and World Heritage Status has been recognised for decades, and its outstanding natural beauty has spellbound thousands of visitors.
Eight years ago a plan to put an airport in the north-west corner of the bog at Ardagh was refused planning permission on environmental and amenity grounds.
Now the Clifden Airport company wants to swap the Ardagh site, with an bogland at Derrygimlagh at the western edge of Roundstone Bog which is owned by the National Parks and Wildlife Service. These developers have persuaded Minister Éamon Ó Cuív and Minister Síle de Valera to re-open the debate on locating such an intrusive development into this fragile area. Clearly it will be disastrous if this wilderness area is damaged and it's wildlife disturbed for the sake of a minority interest group.
The Irish Peatland Conservation Council feel the new site should be opposed for the following reasons :
The Derrygimlagh site is an integral part of the whole bog complex, only separated from the Roundstone Bog by a narrow lake, Loch Fada. Because it is on a level with and close to the heart of Roundstone Bog, any development there would intrude on the silent beauty of this unique tract of wilderness, and compromise its status as a wildlife habitat.
Even a small strip could be the thin edge of the wedge. A terminal building and refuelling facility would no doubt soon prove necessary, and once the ban on building had been breached, there is no knowing what might be allowed in the future: a flying club? a holiday village? and industrial facility?
If a small strip is thought to be necessary and viable, it should be sited in a less sensitive area. Job creation is important, but developments that damage Conamara's most attractive features to the visitor, it's spaciousness and tranquillity, are not the way to go about it. You can help prevent the Ministers from deciding in favour of this development by writing to them at the address below, or visiting one of their advisory clinics and expressing your concern over this issue.
Please write as soon as possible, copying your letter to an Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern Government Buildings, Dublin 2.
Should you wish to write a substantive letter you will find other points you may wish to include in the notes below. You may however, prefer to write a short note and simple letter to Minister Ó Cuív or Minister de Valera pointing out your concerns. This will be equally effective. The more people who write to them the more difficult it will be for them to ignore.
Time is limited so please write now to make your views known. At the present the developers have been very effective in their lobbying campaign of the Ministers, the more pressure we can apply the more likely we are to win the battle to save Roundstone Bog and the wild birds animals and plants that depend on it.
With many thanks for your continued support.
Yours sincerely, Peter Foss, Chairman IPCC
Notes for your letter/meeting with Eamon Ó Cuív or Síle de Valera.
Please address your letter to:
Síle de Valera TD Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht & the Islands 43-49 Mespil Road Dublin 4
Eamon Ó Cuív TD Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht & the Islands 43-49 Mespil Road Dublin 4
If you can attend a clinic in Clare/Galway with either of the Ministers, ring the following numbers to get the current times and venues of forthcoming clinics: Minister de Valera Tel. 065-21100 (01 6670805; Minister Ó Cuív Tel. 091-562846
You might like to mention some or all of the following points in your letter:
* One of the arguments being put forward for the airstrip is that it would service the islands of Inishbofin, Clare etc. It is of course for the Islands to decide what they want, but surely links to existing airports at Galway or Inverin would be more appropriate. Perhaps a helicopter link, or better ferries would be more suitable for the islanders and result in less disturbance to Roundstone Bog.
* Why has the developer put forward no detailed studies on the proposal development and its environmental impact. How, therefore, can the Minister make an informed decision?
* Has the Minister sought the opinion of his own scientific and technical staff on the effects of the proposal on the Roundstone or Derrygimlagh bog, its wildlife and in particular on internationally important threatened birds and plants? (These include Greenland White-fronted Geese, Golden Plover and Merlin). Have detailed ecological and species surveys of the Derrygimlagh site been undertaken?
* Has the effect of air traffic low over the bog been assessed by experts?
* Have alternative sites for the location of an airfield been investigated by the developer?
* Has any feasibility study into the economics of the airport at this site been made? The area is currently serviced by airports at Inverin (45 minutes away by car) and Galway (1 hour 15 minutes away by car), both airports that could benefit from further investment. Is another airport an economically viable proposition?
* Why was the proposed Derrygimlagh site not included in the original SAC (Special Area of Conservation) proposed by the Ministers own Department, especially as the land is state owned? What was the reasoning behind the boundary excluding an area of land already owned by the state?
* At present the Ministers department operates a strict license for 5 individuals cutting turf by hand on a small area of the Derrygimlagh site, so as to "protect its conservation value". How could it be argued that the construction of a airstrip would be compatible with the objective of conserving the area?
* As the Roundstone bog has already been proposed as a World Heritage Site by the Ministers own department, surely it is imperative that it be given maximum protection and not threatened in any way.
* Finally, does the Minister not feel that it is inappropriate
and sets a dangerous precedent for the National Parks and Wildlife
Service to be seen to support developments of this nature. Will
this decision not compromise the ability of the state conservation
agency to object to future inappropriate plans put forward on
this site?
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