Is Noel Dempsey worth 1.8 billion?

Noel Dempsey is buying his re-election for €1.8 billion. Is he worth it? And what does that say about Irish politics. From the Sunday Business Post. 

Transport minister Noel Dempsey has intervened in a controversial pylon dispute by calling on EirGrid to re-route the high voltage lines underground along the new M3 motorway in Meath. Dempsey, whose constituency is in Meath West, got advice from the National Roads Authority, on the option of the underground route - a move that EirGrid claims could cost up to €1.8 billion, ten times the current cost of the project.

Now the reason that he is doing this is blatant he even admits it.

Ina statement to The Sunday Business Post this weekend, Dempsey said: ‘‘As a result of representations made to me by constituents on this issue, I had a number of meetings with EirGrid and requested them to fully examine the option of putting the power lines underground.

So what about the kids is it not worth spend 1.8 billion to save all the children in Meath. Will they not get cancer and stuff?  There is very little research on this to prove a link leukaemia in children and power lines. The Cancer Research UK people say this.

Even if future research shows that EMFs from power lines can cause childhood leukaemia, they are unlikely to be a major cause of this disease. Less than 1% of UK children with leukaemia come from homes with the highest EMF levels.

Slightly less then 1% of kids also live near power lines. Cancer Research UK also says

The World Health Organisation has recommended that some precautions could be taken but the current evidence is not strong enough to warrant anything beyond very low cost measures.

So there you have the World Health Organization believe that there is very little evidence to support the claims that there is any health risks to the population. Certainly less people would suffer and die of cancer if the 1.8 billion was spent on cancer care and research in this country. Alas we do not operate like that in this country. It is all about the small picture it is all about the price of houses it is not a case of making the scientific arguments but caving into the parish pump. Sometimes it is minuscule and sometimes it will cost us 1.8 billion Euro. And sometimes it will get Noel Dempsey re-elected. Of course no opposition party is going to take this up because they too want to get elected in Meath.