THE Ratheniska-Timahoe-Spink (RTS) Substation Action Group suffered a major blow last Wednesday in its campaign to prevent an electrical 400 kV sub power station in the Coolbacky area of Ratheniska.

The group had gone to the High Court to appeal the decision of ABP to allow EirGrid proceed with the installation of an electrical 400 kV sub power station in the local area.

A six-day oral hearing into the community’s objections concluded in November 2013 with An Bord Pleanála (ABP) granting permission to the company to proceed with its Laois/Kilkenny reinforcement project.

This decision was appealed to the High Court, where a decision was made last Wednesday by Mr Justice Robert Haughton to dismiss the group’s appeal.

Speaking following the latest twist in the six-year battle, one of the group’s spokespersons, Colm Fingleton, said: “Obviously, we are very disappointed with the decision. As the decision was only made last Wednesday, we are not in a position to decide where we go to from here. We will now regroup and meet to discuss what options are available to us.”

Another group that had joined RTS in the High Court appeal against ABP’s decision was the Portarlington-based organisation Environmental Action Alliance Ireland (EAAI).

Its spokesperson Dave Malone said: “EirGrid may have won this battle, but they most certainly haven’t won the war. We are not sure at present where we will proceed from here, but there are a number of options open to us, one is to appeal the High Court decision to the Supreme Court. We have ruled nothing out at this stage. Before proceeding further, we will be discussing what our best options are with our legal team. But what I can say for certain, at this point in time, is that this is not finished with yet.”