Seanad told government plan will make Leitrim ‘sacrificial zone’

Senator Nessa Cosgrove claimed in the Seanad this week that there is a widespread belief in Leitrim that the county is being transformed into a “sacrificial zone.”

The comments came as councillors, for the first time, raised concerns that the draft proposal — The National Planning Framework — has the potential to “drive another nail into the coffin of rural Ireland.”

The framework, which as of Wednesday has received approval in both the Dáil and Seanad, outlines Ireland’s long-term strategic plan up to 2040 and will inform the policy of county councils across the country.

Cosgrove expressed concern that the plan fails to provide a clear development strategy for rural centres such as Carrick-on-Shannon, or address the role extractive industries could play in rural areas.

“I feel that Leitrim finds itself in a potentially vulnerable situation, and that there is a serious risk the county will be unsustainably exploited for its natural resources, rather than invested in and treated as an equal partner with Dublin — with a population capable of determining their own future,” she said.

Environmental groups such as Save Leitrim and Love Leitrim have long expressed concerns over industries like forestry, fracking, and mining interests in the county.

“The wholesale plantation of unsuitable, non-native Sitka spruce now covers over 20% of the county’s land. There is also a very real risk posed by future exploration for precious minerals such as gold, and fears that allowing the importation of fracked gas will be a Trojan horse for the exploitation of significant gas reserves under the county,” Cosgrove added.

The plan itself states that, for strategic reasons, it will aim to realise “the potential of the extractive industries sector” in Ireland.

“Fracking and gold mining are two industries notorious for leaving a toxic mess behind them,” Cosgrove warned.

In the Seanad, Cosgrove proposed an amendment to the plan that would impose a strict “prohibition” on the construction of an LNG terminal in Ireland. The amendment was defeated.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Senators voted against the amendment, while Sinn Féin abstained.

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