THE SHANNON PROJECT

Evening Post, Issue 145, 22 December 1928, Page 20

THE SHANNON PROJECT

HYDBO-ELECTBIC POWEB. FOE ;- ' '. lEELAND. „ " If mistakes are being made in the Irish,Free.State courage is being displayed, in the effort to meet a difficult and complicated situation, writes the London correspondent of the Melbourne "Argus."'The scheme for harnessing the" waters of. the, Eiver Shannon . for the production of hydro-olcctric power is progressing despite criticism. .. The five -nines' headrace is almost finished, and the' giant sluicegates at Ardnamisha are completed. The famous Shannon salmon fishing- grounds : are condemned to an inglorious end. For .10 miles a, noble river will be reduced to a. trickle, but Irish, cities will, have electricity. Smaller/ houses will pay ar overhead rate of 6d a week for current; rising according, to. the valuation of the house, with'2dmore= for each unit of current used. At present the consumption of electricity in • Ireland is small, but the authorities ore.busy working up a demand through an Electricity Supply Board., A mistake has been made in putting up iron standards to carry the wires, instead of:concrete standards. ,/It is estimated that the repainting of the'iron standards alone will cost the Free' State & 75,000 a year. :: ''• ':' ' /: ' ; : -, The £5,500,000. contract has been placed in the hands of a German firm, and all the skilled' work is being done

by Germans, many of whom have set-J 'tied iit Ireland with their wives and;j families, and have bought Irish houses.! Others are marrying' Irish girls; ■:' The.' Irish labourers engaged in tho'.Shaunon' scheme earn no more than B^d an hour,; and, us most of them live" in Limerick,■ they have to be up by 5.30 a.m. to catch' thp lorries which take them to the excavations. They, work - from 7.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., with half a hour's break: for dinner. They can work as much: overtime as they please at BJd an hour,, and most of them do so in an effort to1; bring their weekly wage up to 505.: This wage is substantially higher than that of agriculturists.': . . ■ . : i