A North Tipperary TD says the Governments approval for the Shannon Pipeline controversy to progress to planning is an indication of the waning power of the Green Party.
Alan Kelly points out that Eamon Ryan and his party have been opposed to the proposal to take 300 million litres of water from the Shannon to supply Dublin and the midlands.
The Labour TD says either way the €6 billion scheme still has a long way to go.
“They have been opposed to it for many years. They said so publicly, they’ve said so in response to me but yet it was approved at Cabinet.
“I still think there’s a long way to go before this project sees the light of day – it’ll take a decade at least. It’ll have to go through a huge amount of analysis, it’ll have to go through a huge amount of challenges, it’ll have to go through a rigorous planning process.
“Technologies have moved on so we need to see modern technology being used to fix the leaks in Dublin.”
Deputy Kelly says the regional strategy for Ireland needs to change based on the consequences of Covid.
“We need to stop pushing people and pushing jobs towards Dublin. We need to ensure that more people are working in regional areas. If the mid-west has the resource of water well then why not have those jobs and have that investment in the mid-west area. It would be great for the mid-west but also it would be great for Dublin because it would allow Dublin to breathe, it would help with house prices and would ensure a better standard of living for those who are left living in Dublin.”
