The total number of traffic movements into and out of the proposed gas terminal in north Mayo will not exceed 30,000 during the construction period, a traffic consultant stated yesterday.
At the continuing oral hearing into the project, a Bord Pleanála inspector, Mr Kevin Moore, noted that an estimated 262 car trips by construction workers were forecast to occur every morning during a two-year construction phase while heavy goods vehicles movements would not exceed 41 a day.
The inspector also asked to hear outstanding submissions from objectors to the development.
Mr Micheál Ó Sheighin, representing local residents, likened the proposed development to a marble sitting in the centre of a saucer.
"You have a complete circle of land around this site and from any point of view, you will be able to see this terminal. I am not saying it is intrusive but it does become a focal point because it is in a depression. A permanent risk environment will also have been imposed where it did not exist originally," he said.
Stating that Coillte had been refused planning permission on the site in the mid-90s, he added: "It's no wonder Coillte wanted to get rid of the site, which was of no use to them after that."
Mr Éamon Ó Duibhir, representing the Erris Inshore Fishermen's Association, said that as fishermen, their primary concern was the safeguarding and protection of fishing waters in and around Broadhaven and Blacksod bays.
Their major concern was the outflow pipe, its content and discharge location. He noted a report by the marine licence vetting committee which stated that effluent from the terminal would retain a number of toxic-heavy metals with potential negative consequences for marine life and public health.
Enterprise Energy Ireland, the developer, would not accept a proposal to have the discharge point located 18 km from the landfall site, where the discharged material could disperse to open sea. The only sensible option for the Corrib gas terminal was, therefore, an offshore processing platform.
Mr Peter Sweetman for local residents submitted that Enterprise had not properly addressed the issue of alternative sites for the terminal, as was requested by An Bord Pleanála.
He thanked Mr Pat O'Malley, president of IBEC (west region), for disclosing that Allergan Pharmaceuticals in Westport was seeking to secure a spur line into the national gas grid. "It is obvious he is making the case that Clew Bay be the site for this terminal," Mr Sweetman said.