Cllr. Naoise Ó Muirí
Chairperson, Environment and Engineering Strategic Policy Committee
Dublin City Council

Dubliners must be given a vote on the future of iconic Poolbeg Chimney Stacks- Ó Muirí

Fine Gael Cllr. Naoise Ó Muirí has today (Wednesday) called for a Dublin-wide plebiscite to be held on the future for Poolbeg’s iconic Chimney Stacks.

The red and white striped chimneys stand proud and tall over Dublin Bay, once part of the Electricity Supply Board’s generating station on the Poolbeg Peninsula. Built in the 1960’s, each chimney stands at over 680 ft tall, dominating the Dublin sky-line and far exceeding the height of any other structure within the city.

Despite repeated efforts no formal decision has ever been taken to protect these structures and it is for this reason that the Chimneys need to be politicised.

With the recent decommissioning of the ESB station and the on-going development of the Poolbeg Waste-to-Energy facility, little is known about their survival. Action in form of a Facebook Page titled ‘Petition to save the Poolbeg Chimneys’ has already attracted thousands of members.

I have organised an on-line poll on www.naoise.ie and the feedback thus far is that people are 4 to 1 in favour of retaining the candy-stacks.

This is a decision for the people of Dublin not for the bureacrats; we need a city-wide plebiscite on this issue so that the future for these structures is clear, unambiguous and in lines with the wishes of Dubliners.