This is a letter written by an 11 year old girl living on the Great Island who - Understandably is worried about her environment and safety My name is Caoimh I am eleven years old and I live on The Great Island. I am the youngest of three, the only child of the family to be born in Cobh. As my Mum always says ... New house, new baby, new pylon. We all three came together. I speak for all the children living in an area that has the highest number of lines in Ireland. I love where I’m living which is surrounded by beautiful green fields and wonderful wildlife. I love the town of Cobh which is only 2 miles away and I love the friends I’ve made and kept since I started school. I’m scared that if the ESB put up another line, our family will have two lines in our garden and we will have to leave the home I grew up in. It makes me feel very sad but I know my Mum and Dad are very concerned about the health effects these lines have on myself my brother and sister. When I look out of my bedroom window I see a big ugly pylon and on damp days I hear it sizzling from early morning to late at night. If I walk to the top of our road I can see poles and pylons, they stretch for miles as far as I can see. And when the sun goes down the shapes of the trees look brillant against the deep red sky but when you look across the horizon the shapes of the pylons stand out more than anything else. The proposed pylon plan will effect us children more than anyone else. It will effect our health for longer and when the time comes for us to find a nice piece of land to build a home of our own all the space on the Island will be taken over by pylons. We need someone to take care of the environment now so they can hand it on to us and we will take care of it for the next generation. The ESB like to think we don’t exist and they don’t care if our health is affected. The politicians do not care either becuase we do not have a vote, but one day we will and it will be payback time then. We should have the right to live and play in a clean environment. We shouldn’t have to worry at our age about the dangers of electro magnetic fields and non ionising radiation. We should be able to trust in politicians and planning people that they would safe guard our well being and health. This has not been the case and if it was not for my parents and hundreds like them it would be a poor lookout for us. I’m not just here as Caoimh today but as Dan, George, Stephanie, David, Hazel, Bryon, Aine and baby Grace who is our latest addition. There are thousands of us children affected by this line and the seven more in existance. Some of the existing overhead lines should be taken down and new ones put under ground. This is about our health and our right to continue to live in the Harbour Area if that is what we wish. In our constitution it says all children of the Nation should be treated equally. If Cobh has the highest number of high voltage lines in the country then we are being discriminated against by having our health exposed to all these electro magnetic fields. We are not asking for any favours, we are just asking for the rights that are enshrined in the constitution of Ireland. When you read this, think of your own children and think how you would
feel if they were treated like us. All we ask for is to live and
play in a safe and
Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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