Residents in Co Meath are organising a protest march in opposition to the proliferation of mobile phone masts in the county.
Meath County Council has granted planning permission for some 50 telecommunications masts over the past five years, and residents are concerned about their health implications.
Elected members of the council sought last month to have the county development plan varied to ensure that no mast would be granted planning permission within 1km of small towns, villages, residential areas, schools, hospitals, childcare centres or nursing homes and not within 400 metres of a private dwelling.
The motion, however, rather than being acted on was referred to two of the council's strategic policy committees (SPCs) for further consideration. The function of the committees, which include community representation, is to advise the council on policy.
Members of the Mast Action in Meath (MAIM) group are not happy with this decision and plan a protest march in Navan on December 7th. They have accused the council of passing the buck.
Mr Brendan Markey of MAIM explained that his group's main objective was to lobby the local authority to adopt a "precautionary principle" with regard to the siting of mobile phone antennae.
"Our rationale is grounded in the belief that we should err on the side of caution due to the lack of long-term research into the safety of these masts, inadequate national and international guidelines concerning their emissions and the existing body of scientific knowledge pointing to the harmful biological effects of non-thermal microwave radiation," Mr Markey said.
A spokesman for the county council's planning section, Mr Larry Whelan, said it was felt SPCs were the appropriate bodies to consider a possible variation to the county development plan.
He emphasised that it was ultimately up to the elected council members to decide whether the county development plan should be altered.
The proposed variation in Meath follows a similar decision by members of Sligo County Council in relation to the erection of masts.
MAIM is also concerned about a mast located without planning permission close to a school in Carrickleck, between Nobber and Kingscourt. The mast was originally granted planning permission for a period of five years, but this has expired.
Mr Whelan confirmed that the council had served an enforcement notice on Vodafone to remove the structure, but the company had since applied for permission to retain the mast, and this application is being considered.