*Cllr Roisin Garvey flanked by Eamon Ryan. Photograph: John Mangan
Attendees at a special meeting to consider future operations for the Moneypoint power plant were sarcastically praised by Cllr Roisin Garvey “for catching up”.
Responding to the multiple elected representatives who expressed views on where Moneypoint can go to next, Cllr Garvey commented, “It is like being at a Green Party meeting 20 years ago, it is great the other parties have finally realised coal is not the answer. Well done to all of you for catching up”.
She suggested a wind and research deployment centre be set up at Moneypoint, “We don’t have to spend too long talking about it. Let’s not spend the next 30 years reinventing the wheel. We don’t have a lot of time”.
Garvey claimed in the lead-up to the last General Election, one candidate declared Moneypoint would be burning coal for the next thirty years.
Clare’s sole Green Party councillor felt more emphasis needed to be put on developing greenways within the county. “There will one million bednights in Waterford next year from the greenway alone. You cannot beat West Clare aesthetically, sustainable tourism is what we need to look at it as opposed to jobs to replace jobs. Because the climate has changed, absolutely everything has changed. It is a pity we left it so late”.
Consideration to establish a wind and research deployment centre were first mooted by Kilrush Town Council in 2009, Cllr Ian Lynch told the meeting. The Independent councillor called on the Oireachtas members present to secure an increase in funding for the development of a West Clare Greenway.
