Tipperary TD Jackie Cahill angry as Upperchurch wind farm is knocked

Fianna Fail T.D. Deputy Jackie Cahill has said he is disappointed and angry that An Bord Pleanala has refused permission for the Upperchurch Wind Farm development to proceed.

Planning permission had been submitted for the wind farm in recent months and the expectation was that significant employment could have been created in the construction phase, while quite a number of landowners would have benefitted from the farm.
“The proposal would have seen up to fifty landowners in the area benefit from a development where significant investment had been made to bring it to this stage. The economic impact of this development in a rural community like Upperchurch could not be over estimated. It would have been like bringing a major investment into the area with the spin off benefits. This is a huge blow for a rural part of Mid Tipperary and is further evidence of the disconnect there is in Dublin when it comes to Rural Ireland,” an angry Deputy Cahill told The Tipperary Star this week.
The former President of the ICMSA and member of Tipperary County Council, prior to being elected TD for Tipperary, went on to say that this “Dublin centric Government” as he classed it, is doing nothing to force the bureaucrats in the capitol to make their decisions rural friendly.
“We must work to our strengths here in Tipperary and this is what this development was all about. It was using land which is categorized as disadvantaged to produce green energy and bring the economic benefit of it right in to the heart of the community. I will be making immediate contacts at the highest level to force a rethink of this decision,” concluded Deputy Cahill.