A group opposed to pylons has said it is considering running candidates in the local elections in May because it says the Government is not taking account of its views.
The North East Pylon Pressure Campaign, which is opposed to plans to connect power across the border, has said there is such frustration in rural areas that raising funds would not be an issue.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Padraig O'Reilly, a spokesman for the campaign, said: "The Government are not taking into account the real frustration at local community level about these pylons and about infrastructure in general.
"We see the opposition parties starting to look into this in a serious way, but failing the Government's action to address this, we will look at candidates ourselves if we have to."
Mr O'Reilly said recent statements by Taoiseach Enda Kenny that emigration would follow if there were no pylons and by Minister for Enterprise Richard Bruton that regional development would suffer if the pylons were not built were "contemptuous of people's intelligence in local communities".
"They really serve to force the likes of us, who are not a political organisation, to look possibly at candidates."
