Tooreen and Kilkelly near Ballyhaunis in Co Mayo are the focus of an environmental dispute. The county council's decision to approve the development of a £30 million cement factory on 30 hectares there has sparked controversy among residents, up to 200 of whom marched in protest near the site before Christmas.
Frank Harrington Ltd, a supplier of sand and aggregates, concrete pipes, blocks and cement products, was notified earlier this month it had planning permission for the project. The company employs 170 people at a plant in nearby Kilkelly. It says its proposed extension will create 200 new jobs.
The Environmental Protection Agency is now considering an application by the company for a licence to operate the factory.
But news of the proposed development has angered residents of Tooreen/Kilkelly, who claim the factory will cause serious environmental damage by emitting poisonous gases and dust pollution.
Additional objections, from the Western Health Board and the North Western Fisheries Board, have been lodged with the council and the EPA, on the basis that the plant's operations may cause a deterioration in water quality in nearby rivers and lakes and may exacerbate an existing dustcontrol problem in the area.
Adequate dust-control measures at the existing plant are not being enforced, the health board claims. It has expressed concern that air quality problems may have a detrimental effect on the health of the many elderly people living near the site. Mr Michael Lynskey, chairman of the Tooreen Community Council, said: "We just feel annoyed that at a time when the people of Tooreen are finally making progress with developments such as the new school, which took us 20 years to secure, we are now told that a cement factory is going to be plonked in the middle of the village and we have been given no say."
Mr Peter Cassidy, chairman of the Tooreen Action Committee said: "People feel under pressure and are threatening to move out of the area if the development goes ahead. Already some families have decided not to enrol their children at the school unless the project is stopped". While local people have vowed to do everything in their power to halt the development, the protest march, which included young and old, was peaceful.
A spokesman for Frank Harrington Ltd said the matter now rested in the hands of the authorities which, had the expert knowledge and all the necessary information at hand.