Ballyhaunis doctors object to £30m
cement plant
28 May 1997
All five GP's in Ballyhaunis, the nearest large town to Tooreen, where it is proposed to build a £30 million cement manufacturing plant, have expressed strong opposition on health grounds to the factory.
The five medical objectors are: Dr. Diarmuid Murray; Dr. Michael Brogan: Dr. Alan Delaney; Dr. Patrick Noone and Dr. Michael Cleary.
According to the Tooreen Cement Action Group, which is against the proposal by Frank Harrington Ltd., the doctors spent a lot of time and effort researching the health aspects of siting such a facility in a well populated rural area.
One of the GP's, Dr. Diarmuid Murray has commented: "The proposed emissions will have a deleterious effect on the health of the nearby residents. There is already a high incidence of respiratory diseases in the local population and I am certain the proposed pollutant emissions will seriously exacerbate this problem".
Another GP, Dr. Michael Brogan says: "My belief is that if the project goes ahead it will definitely cause problems with the health of the people in the surrounding area, in the immediate and long term future".
Dr. Alan Delaney, meanwhile, says he is of no doubt that the close proximity of such a factory to dwellinghouses is bound to have a deleterious effect on those people who are already compromised by various respiratory conditions.
"While I would dearly wish to see a huge increase in jobs locally the proposed cement factory is, in my opinion, a price much too high to pay".
The Harrington company has denied any health risks in its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to Mayo County Council and isn't commenting on the latest developments.
However, Peter Cassidy, chairman of the Tooreen Action Group, says: "This is one more in a long list of reasons why the project should not go ahead".
* The Action Group has set up a fighting fund and has opened an account at the Ulster Bank in Ballyhaunis. The account number is 07449056 and the bank sorting code is 98/52/70.
