Irish PM Boasts of Blocking Windfarm for Donald Trump

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Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar dropped a major climate clanger in Washington this week, when boasting about intervening with Irish planning authorities on behalf of Donald Trump. The incident occurred in 2014, prior to Trumpโ€™s presidential run and when Varadkar was then Irish tourismย minister.

Trump phoned him in a bid to thwart plans for a wind farm to be located near his newly purchased golf resort in Doonbeg, on Irelandโ€™s western seaboard. Varadkar then phoned the local county council and โ€œendeavoured to do what I could do about itโ€, he told a lunch event in Washington this week to mark St. Patrickโ€™s Day, Irelandโ€™s nationalย holiday.

Permission for a nine turbine wind farm close to Doonbeg was subsequently refused. โ€œI am very happy to take credit for it if the president is going to offer it to meโ€, Varadkar said thisย week.

Irelandโ€™s Green Party condemned Varadkarโ€™s intervention on behalf of Trump as having โ€œprivately interfered in the planning processโ€, a move it described as โ€œa shocking error of judgementโ€. The Labour Party was equally scathing, describing Varadkarโ€™s admission asย โ€œextraordinaryโ€.

The incident is an embarrassment for the Irish government in what is usually a โ€˜good newsโ€™ trip to Washington for the annual Irish celebrations. Prior to his trip, Varadkar had spoken of the danger of the EU and US drifting apart on key issues, including Trumpโ€™s withdrawal from the Paris Accord on climate change, and suggested Ireland could act as a bridge to encourage the US to stick to its internationalย commitments.

In January, Varadkar told the European Parliament that Ireland was an international โ€œlaggardโ€ on climate action, adding that he was โ€œnot proud of Irelandโ€™s performanceโ€. The 2018 Climate Change Performance Index ranked Ireland as the worst performing country in the EU.

Ireland is on track to miss its binding 2020 EU emissions targets by a wide margin, partly due to the influence of a powerful agricultural sectorย lobby.

The Fine Gael-led government headed by Varadkar, despite having a โ€˜climate actionโ€™ minister, has been notably unenthusiastic on climate. As a result, Ireland faces what Varadkar called โ€œsome pretty major fines for not meeting our (EU)ย obligationsโ€.

This weekโ€™s Washington blooper is a public reminder that when it comes to environmental issues, powerful lobbyists – be they domestic or international – can expect a warm Irish welcome from its seniorย politicians.

Updateย 

Varadkar has clarified his comment, saying he in fact contactedย Fรกilte Ireland โ€” Ireland’s Tourism Development Authority โ€” after his conversation with Trump. The PM maintains that he was right to do so, as part of his role in the government at the time. He toldย reporters:ย 

โ€œI did what was entirely appropriate which was to pass on those concerns to the relevant statutory agency and I did so in writing. That is what any tourism minister shouldย do.โ€

Image:ย Annika Haas (EU2017EE)/Flickrย CC BY 2.0. Updated: 19/03/2018: An updated after Varadakar clarified his comments wasย added.

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John Gibbons is a Dublin-based specialist writer and commentator on climate and environmental issues. He blogs at ThinkOrSwim.ie. You can follow him on Twitterย @think_or_swim.

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