Mr. John Horgan:

It certainly is and, as I said, I have been briefed on it. I understand in part, what happened. Local landowners were refused permission in circumstances where they believed Bord na Móna would have been given planning permission or indeed, got planning permission next door and to them, that seems unfair. I do not know all of the ins and outs of the case. I know that much and no more. The Deputy has drawn my attention to an issue upon which I have been partially briefed and I will give it my full attention if, or when, I become chairman.

I thank Deputy Keaveney for his kind comments and I hope my experience in change management will be useful. In terms of our role in wind energy, I see Bord na Móna having a huge part to play in the implementation of the national wind energy policy. We have a lot going for us in this area. We have a land bank that is uniquely suited to wind farms and there is a lot of work being done within Bord na Móna to identify the potential that exists, which is enormous. We also have experience in wind farms and in generating electricity. We have the engineers and electricians to do the work. We also have enormous expertise in large infrastructure projects, in obtaining planning permission and so forth. We have a great future in this area but we need to be focused in our involvement. As to the exact way in which Bord na Móna would be involved, I am open-minded. I do not have fixed views on whether we should get involved alone or through joint ventures. I am in favour of leveraging all of the great advantages that we have to the maximum extent for the maximum benefit of the communities, Bord na Móna, the shareholder and the nation.

Various people have made proposals to develop very large wind farms. The east-west interconnector is being opened this afternoon which will greatly improve the potential for the export of electricity from Ireland to the United Kingdom. If that is to take place, I would like to see Bord na Móna have a large role in it, but it must always be based on Bord na Móna getting maximum value for the shareholder and the company.

It cannot be on the basis of being in just because we have to be or being in cheap. We must take a very hard-nosed approach and drive the best deal we can with whoever we joint venture with or share in any capacity. This will be a big challenge for us. We must make sure we are not taken for granted or pushed into doing something because it looks good or because someone else says we should do it. We have to recognise the enormous value Bord na Móna has and leverage that. That should be our approach, in a general sense.

The Deputy asked about my priorities. In 18 months time, I would like to see us well advanced in that project. It will not be built by then, of course, but I hope we will have a big and valuable stake in it. That is one of the things I would like to see us do.