Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 20 Jun 1995

Vol. 454 No. 6

Written Answers. - Masonite (Leitrim) Project.

Declan Bree

Ceist:

110 Mr. Bree asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the reason he is opposed to the proposed location of the Masonite Fibre Board Manufacturing Plant near Drumsna, County Leitrim; the reason no objection was submitted to Leitrim County Council when the company submitted its application for planning permission; if his Department was consulted in respect of the development by the Department of Enterprise and Employment, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and Forbairt in view of the decision by Masonite to locate in Drumsna in December 1994; if he will report on the outcome of these consultations; if his attention has been drawn to the concern in the region regarding the objection raised by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11137/95]

John Ellis

Ceist:

113 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the reason he did not raise any objections or issues in relation to the Masonite project, as Drumsna, County Leitrim, before Leitrim County Council and the planning authority reached their decision. [11315/95]

John Ellis

Ceist:

114 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he communicated his concerns to Forbairt in view of his objections to the Masonite project at Drumsna, County Leitrim. [11316/95]

John Ellis

Ceist:

115 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he communicated his concern to the promoter company in view of his objections in relation to the Masonite project at Drumsna, County Leitrim. [11318/95]

John Ellis

Ceist:

116 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht if he consulted with Leitrim County Council as the planning authority in connection with the application of the Masonite project, at Drumsna, County Leitrim. [11320/95]

John Ellis

Ceist:

117 Mr. Ellis asked the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht the investigation or analysis, if any, he has carried out into the Masonite project or its planning application in respect of an industry at Drumsna, County Leitrim; and if so, when this investigation was initiated, when it took place and by whom it was carried out. [11321/95]

Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht (Mr. M. Higgins)

As previously stated by me in the Adjournment Debate on 14 June 1995, I support and have consistently supported the proposal to provide a fibre board manufacturing plant in Leitrim. I welcome an industry which will use local materials and create much needed jobs in the region. However, as Minister with responsibility for waterways, my concerns in respect of the siting of the plant related to its possible adverse impact on the visual amenity and on the tourist potential of the Shannon navigation. Leitrim deserves and needs to benefit from both forestry and tourism-related job creation.

The decision in regard to this plant was taken in December 1994 at a Government meeting, a Government of which I was not a member. My Department was not consulted by the Department of Enterprise and Employment, the Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry or Forbairt in relation to the proposal and only became aware of it as a result of an article published in The Irish Times on 30 May 1995.

My Department sought advice from the Wateways Service and from the National Heritage Council. I personally became aware on Friday 9 June 1995 on the basis, in particular, of architectural advice, that the development could have a significant visual impact on the Shannon navigation. There was insufficient time to communicate my concerns to Leitrim County Council, to Forbairt or to Masonite prior to the last day for submission of objections to An Bord Pleanála, which was also Friday 9 June 1995.

I am pleased to advise the Deputies that, following consultations between representatives of my Department and the Masonite Corporation, I am satisfied that the additional amelioration measures proposed by the Company, which will encompass further mounding, landscaping and a 5 to 6 metre reduction in the ridge height of the main building, address my concerns. Accordingly, I have withdrawn my objection.