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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 16 Jun 1998

Vol. 492 No. 4

Adjournment Debate. - Communications Masts.

The proposed erection of an Esat Digifone mast at the Garda Barracks in Maam, County Galway, is causing great concern in the area. It is a rural area of outstanding scenic amenity and is usually very peaceful. I am aware of the contractual arrangements between Esat Digifone, the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Office of Public Works and the Garda Commissioner concerning the erection of a large number of such masts — approximately 480 — at Garda stations throughout the country. When the contract was drawn up, not enough consideration was given in its terms to situations like that at Maam. Tiernakill national school is situated in close proximity to the Garda barracks and the mast. The mast is only 12 feet from the boundary of the school and only 27 feet from the school building.

The current Garda mast has a 25 watt capacity while the proposed mast will have a 34 watt capacity. I am not qualified to enter into the technical debate about the safety or potential danger of radiation from such masts, but I fully accept the grave and growing concern of the teachers, parents and children in the Tiernakill school catchment area. The fear of the unknown is widespread in the community. Parents do not know what will be added to the mast in future or what effect this will have on transmissions.

The various Departments should have a qualified information officer whose responsibility would be to meet and inform communities, such as Maam, about all matters relating to installation and operation of such masts. We should cut out the mystery and clearly spell out to communities exactly what the erection of such masts means, what monitoring will take place after they go into use and what safeguards the people in the area will have against breaches of the guidelines or conditions of use of such masts. A great deal of the difficulties in Maam would have been avoided if the contract entered into with Esat Digifone had excluded the erection of such masts at Garda stations within a certain distance of schools.

I assure the Minister this is a serious problem in Tiernakill national school. I attended a public meeting there recently and the teachers and parents are angry and concerned and determined to ensure the erection of this mast should not go ahead so close to the school. I was asked to alert the Ministers concerned that if the plans for the erection of this mast go ahead, the very future of the school could be at risk and this would be a tragedy for the area. Maam is a rural area unparalleled in beauty and scenic amenity. It is situated five miles and eight miles from the nearest national schools at Cornamona and Leenane. We should do everything in our power to keep such a community alive.

There is a solution to the problem. In a Department of the Environment and Local Government booklet issued on the matter, a directive was given that new transmitters would use existing masts where they were available. An ESB mast is available less than half a mile away and the community would have no objection to or difficulty with additional transmission facilities there. I urge the Minister to consult his colleagues, the Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Education and Science, to ensure no obstacle would be put in the way of allowing Esat Digifone to change the proposal and relocate their transmission equipment to the ESB mast nearby. I understand from the telephone company that it would examine the alternative location if it got the necessary assurances from the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform that it would not be in breach of contract by any delay caused by investigating the alternative location. I urge the Minister to liaise with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and find a solution to this serious problem for the teachers, parents and pupils of Tiernakill national school, Maam.

I thank Deputy McCormack for raising this matter and I apologise for the unavoidable absence of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Minister welcomes this opportunity to deal with what appears to be increasing concern in some communities about the agreement concluded with Esat Digifone, the second licensed mobile telephone operator, under which it has been permitted to use Garda radio masts or sites.

It might be of some assistance if I outline the background to the agreement with Esat Digifone. The arrangement arose from an approach made to the Garda authorities by the company in September 1996 with a proposal to co-locate mobile telephony equipment on Garda radio masts or sites in the context of its planned mobile telephone network. The company indicated that in return it was prepared to pay the full rental value of the sites involved in addition to providing facilities and services to the Garda Siochána, which would be of significant operational and strategic value. I will return to this.

The Garda authorities considered the arrangements proposed by Esat Digifone to be technically feasible and of significant benefit to it in terms of its plans for the future development of its radio and telecommunications network. Given the strong support for the proposal by the Garda authorities and mindful of the desire to avoid a proliferation of such masts as recommended in the guidelines for local planning authorities on the siting of telecommunications antennae and support structures, which were issued by the Department of the Environment and Local Government in July 1996, the previous Government approved the proposal, subject to Esat Digifone complying fully with planning requirements, health and safety legislation, the Radiological Protection Act and all relevant guidelines which may be set down from time to time by the International Radiation Protection Association.

Subsequently, a contractual agreement was concluded with Esat Digifone in early 1997 under which it is permitted to use up to 418 out of a total of 704 Garda station sites, approximately 59 per cent of stations. The Garda station at Maam was among the 418 sites identified by the company as being of interest to it and, accordingly, comprehended by the agreement with the company. The Minister understands the proposed replacement of the existing Garda mast at Maam by Esat Digifone with a more robust structure is an exempt development under the Local Government Planning and Development Regulations, 1997. He is fully aware there is concern in some communities about the safety of mobile telephone technology and wishes to emphasise that he fully accepts the right of people who may have such concerns to raise them and seek explanations and assurances. However, as far as he is aware, all reputable scientific evidence is that such systems are safe and are operated in accordance with internationally accepted standards. The International Radiation Protection Association has prescribed internationally recognised guidelines to which operators must conform. Reference is made to these in an appendix to the Department of the Environment and Local Government's guidelines for planning authorities, as mentioned earlier.

As I said, under the contract with Esat Digiphone the company is required to comply fully with the standards set out therein and the Minister is not entitled to refuse the company access to Garda sites unless the company contravenes any of the conditions associated with such access, which I outlined earlier.

The Minister has been informed by the Garda authorities that, even if Esat Digiphone had never approached the Garda with its proposals, it was always the force's intention to replace the majority of its masts as part of its planned replacement of its national radio network. As mentioned, some benefits associated with the Esat Digiphone agreement are operationally and strategically important in this regard. In addition to the payment of site rental to the State, the company has also agreed to allow the Garda access to its other sites as required to install Garda radio equipment; to use Esat Digiphone masts to provide the force with capacity on the Digiphone network for Garda communications use; to replace or erect new Garda masts where necessary and to pass them into Garda ownership; and to supply the force with a specified number of mobile telephones together with free calls for those' phones and certain others on the Esat Digiphone network. The total value of these benefits has the potential to reduce substantially the cost of the new Garda radio network.

The Minister wishes me to point out that the decision to allow Esat Digiphone access to Garda sites was not taken lightly. Careful and detailed consideration was given to the proposals and the agreement is designed to ensure full protection to the public and the environment. Should any doubts arise in this regard it would be a matter for the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation and the relevant planning authorities to consider.

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