What are the health implications of living next to a mobile phone mast?
Mireille O'Sullivan believes her health has suffered from living near a mast. She has been experiencing symptoms including nausea, migraine, and ear pain. Mireille has now moved out of her Dublin home and says that she won't go back until the mast is gone.
In Dungarvan, Colette O'Connell has organised a network of groups opposed to masts and antennas. She believes that muscle flickering that she is experiencing is being caused by a mast four hundred feet away from her house.
I have confirmed to my own satisfaction that this is caused by the Esat transmitter. If I go to other parts of the country where there are Esat transmitters, I experience the same flickering.
Margaret Carmody lives in the shadows of a mast on a halting site in Tallaght. She claims that everyone on the site has unexplained headaches and is excessively tired.
Recent guidelines on phone masts and antennas say that where possible they should not be located near schools or homes. A conference on 'Communications Technology in the Community' has been organised as a direct result of nationwide concerns. John Royds, who provides advice to local groups, believes that the outcome of the conference will be a foregone conclusion. He believes that Ireland should take the precaution of relocating masts away from homes and schools.
Protesters say that communities are being forced to accept masts they don't want and the group says that this proves that commercial interests are the priority for the government over public health.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 5 March 1998. The reporter is Carole Coleman.
