Within the next few weeks, the ESB will start work on the erection of 84 pylons around Cork Harbour at a cost of £9 million. That will be the signal for what could become one of the most bitterly contested environmental disputes in the State. The community says it doesn't want the pylons; the ESB says it must have them.
At this stage, the legal battles have been fought and lost as far as the Cork Harbour Anti-Pylon Group is concerned. In a recent judgment, the High Court found in favour of the ESB and the best advice available to the group is that there would be little point in taking the matter to the Supreme Court. All that is left is community action and that is precisely what will happen, according to Mr Eddie Mansworth, spokesman for the group.
"We have exhausted the legal process; now we have no option left but to attempt to stop the erection of the pylons, one by one, as the ESB tries to put them in place. That means we will have 84 battles to fight and we are ready to fight them. We have a well-organised campaign waiting to kick into action.
"We have tried to get the ESB to see the sense of our argument for underwater cables rather than unsightly, and as we contend, dangerous pylons on land, but they are not willing to do so. They are determined to go ahead with what we believe is a very expensive white elephant and we are equally determined to stop them," he said.
The ESB's plan is to ring the harbour with pylons, from Raffeen on the southern side to Aghada in the east. The board has argued that without the overhead power line it will be unable to guarantee supply to Cork city where demand, due to rapid industrialisation in the past decade, has been growing faster than the national average. Without the 220 Kv power line, Cork would face the risk of system overload and, inevitably, power cuts.
To avoid this situation, the ESB began approaching farmers in the harbour area in 1994, seeking way leave agreements. In 1996, planning permission was granted by Cork County Council and was upheld in 1997 by An Bord Pleanala. The following year, the disputed project was placed before independent international experts, Vattenfall of Sweden, and again the ESB's case was upheld. Finally, the recent decision of the High Court was in favour of the ESB.
From the beginning, the ESB has submitted that the submarine cable would not be viable because it would cross a major anchorage and a busy shipping lane in Cork Harbour. Also, there are up to 20 force eight storms in the harbour annually. And then there is the cost factor - £9 million for the overland route as against £29 million to lay the cables under the harbour.
The ESB concluded it could find no example of such cables being located under water in a city of comparable importance.
As regards health implications, the company says it has conducted a comprehensive study using the best available expertise and is satisfied the erection of pylons would not lead to increased risks of cancer.
The anti-pylon group is not impressed. It argues that the various reports on the issue can be used to counter the ESB's claims and that the submarine option provides the company with a unique and viable opportunity to reduce the existing density of overhead power lines.
There are genuine health fears, said Mr Mansworth, as well as the worry that the harbour environment will forever be despoiled by the presence of so many huge pylons dominating the skyline.
It is the group's intention, he added, to prevent ESB machinery and supplies from leaving depots in Cork to begin work on the pylons. The group's allies, he claimed, are public opinion and the eco-activists who are preparing to confront the ESB at Raffeen and Saleen. They include protesters who were at the Glen of the Downs standoff in Co Wicklow, which ended last June.
Mr Dara McCorley and Mr Scott Davies are two seasoned campaigners who say they are prepared to go to jail to uphold their beliefs. They and their dozen or so friends are referred to by Mr Mansworth as the group's "early warning system".
Both eco-activists say they are motivated by a love of the environment and concern at the effect a huge ring of pylons could have on Cork Harbour. They are a vital element, according to the harbour group, in what looks like the final phase of a long-running argument.
For obvious reasons, the ESB has not set a date for the start of work. The anti-pylon group believes it will be sooner rather than later and has scheduled a mass meeting in Cobh for Saturday. In the meantime, the group, which claims a core membership of 500, will continue knocking on doors in the harbour area to bring home its message, and a roadshow will visit towns and villages in the locality. "We hope it doesn't come to a confrontation. Even at this late stage we would ask the ESB to reverse its decision and go for the underwater option," Mr Mansworth said.
The group's website address is: www.cobhantipylon.com