Kevin Myers: Let me admit that I might appear to have a vested interest in the integrity and future of Barretstown Castle Gang Camp. I live a mile away from it, and it is dear to my heart for the beauty of its parklands and the assurance that its acres are immune to suburbanisation.
But it is dear to the hearts of many other people who do not live near it for the joy it has brought and - we hope - will continue to bring children who are at risk. For the most part, children who holiday there are seriously ill; for some it will be the last summer of their lives.
In November 2000, Readymix Ireland applied for planning permission to construct a plant to extract, wash and process sand and gravel, along with a concrete batching operation, less than a mile from and upwind of Barretstown. Readymix's accompanying letter to Kildare County Council declared that the proposed plant would extract, process and batch half a million tons of sand and gravel annually.
The extraction would involve the use of crawler-mounted back hoes which would load the sand and the gravel via hoppers onto mobile field conveyers with front-end loading shovels. The mineral would then be transferred to the permanent field conveyer, and thence to the processing plant for washing and screening. All this would be in the open.
Initially, there would be a temporary processing plant, but this would be followed by a the construction of a permanent operation, with a concrete batching plant, wheel-wash, weighbridge and offices and other services. The extraction processes would be in operation from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday, and from 8 a.m to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. However, the operation of the batching plant, and the removal of sand, gravel and batched concrete would occur all day, six days a week.
Barretstown protested. After all, it is downwind and not far away from this proposed 70-acre operation, which not merely would be generating a great deal of noise and dust, but would also be the source of at least a thousand lorry movements a week.
A member of the Barretstown Medical Advisory Committee, Dr Ian Fraser, wrote to Kildare County Council objecting to the proposal. "Currently at Barretstown we offer these children (at risk) a programme based on excellence in a clean and dust-free environment. If the proposed quarry is approved we can no longer guarantee these children a dust-free environment where pulmonary function can be maintained. This would ultimately result in these children not experiencing ten days of magic at Barretstown.
"Clearly the short-term effects on these children are atrocious; however, the long-term implications for Barrettstown are devastating and could result in the ultimate demise of this invaluable psycho-social programme for seriously ill children, and we respectfully request that this planning application be rejected."
The Office of Public Works owns Barretstown under a trust deed which requires it to be used for charitable purposes. The commissioners wrote: "As legal owners and sole trustees of Barretstown castle estate, the Commissioners wish to express their deep concerns about the adverse impacts the proposed Readymix development will have on the effective use of Barretstown."
Joseph O'Donnell, of the OPW property management services, declared that the development would detrimentally affect the successful operation of the trust property. The emissions of dust would "constitute a dangerous and adverse impact on the welfare of the terminally ill and seriously sick children at the camp". Of the noise, he said it would seriously affect the tranquillity of the children concerned "only a couple of fields away".
Finally, he noted that the environmental impact survey drawn up by Readymix observed that the eight- to 10-year lifetime of the extraction process was "relatively short". He added: "Tragically, for the many terminally ill children who will attend the camp during this time, the timeframe of eight to 10 years can in no way be described as 'relatively short'." However, and despite numerous objections from local residents Kildare County Council (naturally, one is tempted to interpolate) gave planning permission to Readymix, but with various stipulations. Barretstown, amazingly, then said that provided the stipulations were honoured, it would have no objection to the planning permission as given.
Jesus Christ Almighty. This is Ireland, not Sweden. Since we have no independent regulatory authority measuring dust emissions, noise and traffic movement, who is to ensure that any planning permission restrictions will be observed? Perhaps the children's coughing might provide an independent monitor of its own. It could be an interesting experiment.
That great man Paul Newman took one look at Barretstown 10 years ago, and fell in love with it. It seemed ideal for his Hole-in-the-Wall project to give holidays to children who might be terminally ill. Today, does he know that a vast all-day sand and gravel operation might soon get under way just a couple of fields from that paradise? Do the good and honourable members of the board know this? And does anyone really believe that surface extraction on such a scale can be achieved without intense degradation of the local environment, especially downwind?
I have declared an interest here. It would be professionally unethical of me to use this space, and positively wicked of me to use the plight of the children of Barretstown, to further that interest. I would say what I have said no matter where I lived.
The matter is now before An Bord Pleanála. And at stake is not just Barretstown, and its children, but the values of our society.