A Chara, - I have written to the local co-operative society on Inis Meain asking them to reconsider their plans to erect a windfarm on their island.
I can understand some of the difficulties of living on an island and how unsatisfactory many of the services can be. People living on the mainland take for granted a good supply of water and electricity but these are a constant worry to the islanders and wind power might help to solve some of their problems. However, as the writer and map-maker Tim Robinson rightly points out, "- there are places in which windfarms could be sited without much visual pollution, but the Aran Islands are not among them".
The old argument that one cannot sell landscape does not hold true anymore, especially as far as the Aran Islands are concerned. It is the stunning scenery of the islands which thousands of visitors come to admire from all over the world.
As I have far too much respect for the Aran Islands, I have decided not to appeal this planning decision to An Bord Pleanala but instead would appeal to those who live on Arainn, Inis Meain and Inis Oirr to think again before they begin transforming forever, a dramatic landscape for which the islands are so famous. - Is mise. Eamonn De Buitlear,
Delgany, Co Wicklow.