The North Mayo Action Group, which has been set up to find replacement jobs for the region following the closure of the ESB's peat-powered electricity station at Bellacorick and the local Bord na Mona works later this year, has welcomed the decision.
Group spokesman Mr Chris Tallott said: "Some 240 jobs will be lost locally within a year. We welcome any industry that would provide a replacement provided the health and safety concerns of local residents are addressed."
Mr Michael McGarry, chairman of Erris Tourism, welcomed the fact that Mayo County Council had given the go-ahead for the project.
He said that it would bring huge economic benefits to Erris, not alone industrially but also from a tourism point of view in that there would be an increased investment in accommodation and more leisure areas.
Mr Ian McAndrew, chairman of the Pro-Erris Gas Group, said that as convenor of the meeting where 800 people had gathered to show dissatisfaction with the last refusal, he was glad that due process had again taken place and that the new application had been successful.
"From a development point of view this is a good day for Erris and a good day for Ireland," Mr McAndrew stated.
Mr Derek Reilly, of the newly-formed Erris Chamber of Commerce, said yesterday the chamber would not make any comment until it met on Monday night to consider the situation.
"We will be studying the matter and making our views known on it," Mr Reilly said.