Bord na Mona under attack as condition of Offaly's Lough Boora 'disimproved'

BORD na Mona came under attack at Monday's meeting of Offaly County Council.

A number of councillors lashed the energy company, accusing it of continuing to fail to engage with elected councillors, especially on the issue of its future plans for all of its land.

There was even a suggestion that Offaly County Council should stop chanelling Creative Ireland funding towards the sculpture park at Lough Boora unless Bord na Mona meets with the local authority and its elected members.

However, one representative, Cllr Eamon Dooley, said the Energy Minister should be the target, not the energy company.

Cllr Dooley, Fianna Fail member and former Bord na Mona employee, said he believed Bord na Mona will be awarded a contract worth “€30 million or thereabouts” for the construction of the new tourist trails in the Midlands but he was concerned about the terms and conditions of the deal.

“It's going to be their land so what are we going to get out of it? We're told it's going to be great for Offaly, but will it be at the end of the day?”

The Ferbane-based councillor said Bord na Mona did not have a good track record of delivering for Offaly and he called on all other councillors to make representations in their own parties because a “political decision” will determine the trails project.

The councillors were told by Anne Dillon, council director of service, that the council had been briefed by Failte Ireland, the intermediary body for the European just transition fund, and it was actively engaging with local authorities as well as Bord na Mona, Waterways Ireland, Coillte and other partners.

The council had engaged with Bord na Mona on the strategic trails project. “We believe we're coming very close to the identification of the routes for those trails and a majority of those trails will be in Offaly on Bord na Mona lands,” said Ms Dillon.

She said there will be an opportunity to link those trails to towns and villages in the county through partnerships with communities and the local authority and other landowners.

Cllr Dooley indicated he did not trust Bord na Mona: “With the best intentions in the world, somebody telling you they're going to link the towns and villages and it doesn't happen, it's too late then.”

Cllr John Leahy, Independent, expressed his concern about Lough Boora and said it needed investment, especially its sculpture park.

Cllr John Clendennen, Fine Gael said there would be “no point” in the council investing in the sculpture park if other aspects of the park are falling behind “and potentially giving us a bad name”. “We're gone blue in the face at this stage looking for engagement from Bord na Mona,” he remarked.

Amanda Pedlow, heritage officer, revealed that a tender is out for the maintenance of the sculpture park and Sharon Kennedy, director of service, detailed that a consultant will be appointed to advise “because we have to have regard to the original artists”.

Ms Kennedy said: “A number of the sculptures are well weather worn and need attention. All of them do.”

Cllr Neil Feighery, Fine Gael said he had met Jobs and Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney both in Tullamore and at the party think-in and he was in favour of setting up a meeting with Bord na Mona.

Cllr Feighery said the company must publish its land use strategy. “It's stonewalling of our repeated attempts to have the strategy published is completely unacceptable,” said Cllr Feighery.

He said councillors were being “blindfolded” and ignored by Bord na Mona which had a duty to act as a semi-state company.

Another Fine Gael member, Cllr John Clendennen said Bord na Mona's priority is energy and they were profit driven but Offaly was “at risk of being the victims because there's a short window to draw down just transition funding” and the company's energy development “could be at the expense of tourism”.

Cllr Clendennen asked for “common decency” that the land management plan be given so that Offaly County Council could draw down funds for job creation and tourism before August 2026 when “the window will close” for the funding for the Failte Ireland Bord na Mona trails development fund. “There's no point in us crying to Government then. We have our opportunity.”

The councillor recalled summer 2021 and discussions on the different aspects of how funding would be attained.

“All those stars have aligned except for Bord na Mona and the clock is ticking now.” He claimed he had seen nothing to indicate Bord na Mona were interested in tourism development.

Cllr Feighery said when he was last in Lough Boora he could not believe how it had “disimproved” and suggested that the council “turn off the tap” in funding for the sculpture park because Bord na Mona were not investing in the overall park.

He said the council needed to know how much the company was investing in Lough Boora Discovery Park.

“I've heard figures quoted to me and they're absolutely dismal.”

Cllr Dooley said he believed a meeting with Bord na Mona would not achieve anything. “We're shooting the wrong messenger here. Bord na Mona for all their faults are only doing the bidding of the [energy] department and the minister.”

He pointed out that Ireland had not transposed the EU law on community energy unlike every other country and that was because of the power of the energy companies in Ireland.