DEAR SIR: Irish Wind Energy Association CEO Gary Healy acknowledges that there is a “disconnect” between rural communities and the wind industry – Irish Farmers Journal profile on 01/06/2017. Yet, he repeatedly uses the adjective ‘host’ to describe communities in a strategic attempt to imply that such industrial infrastructure might be welcome onto their landscape.

On the contrary, rural communities do not welcome these industrial wind turbine developments foisted upon their lives and their landscape.

As most applications for industrial wind farm developments are SID (Strategic Infrastructure Development) designated, communities have no option but to make submissions directly to An Bord Pleanala to have their voices heard. Each submission costs €50. There were 800 submitted from my home community opposing the Maighne wind farm.

How easy it is for the non-community-based developer and the individual collaborating landowners to plough ahead with such transformational, so-called progressive, industrial development across the Irish rural landscape.

No financial gain could possibly compensate for the destruction of our local rural landscape and all it encompasses. Critically, nothing could possibly compensate for the loss of future family generations here, in essence the destruction of the social fabric of our community.

In another subtle attempt to suggest division, Mr Healy lists separately the ‘farmers, landowners and people living in rural communities’ as custodians of the local landscape.

Indeed, farmers and other landowners are an inclusive part of the community. Together, we are the custodians of our local rural landscape. Developers, greedy landowners and political ideologists are simply chasing the short-term ‘onshore’ gold rush, intolerable and unacceptable.