Mr. Owen Bannigan:

There was a question regarding the North-South interconnector and whether there is any scope for agreement in that regard. I am an optimist and there is scope for agreement. I cannot outline how that might be possible. While Monaghan Anti-Pylon Committee has invited Mr. Slye to meet representatives of the group in County Monaghan, the offer has been refused for whatever reasons. The committee would need to ask EirGrid about that.

The only way to have progress on the North-South interconnector is by bringing communities along by addressing their concerns. This has not happened after six years. It would be very simple for me to say the interconnector would go ahead tomorrow if lines were put underground, and that is the truth. That is what landowners and local communities want to see happening. The Government commissioned an independent study on the North-South interconnector which indicated that the required technology exists to carry out that process successfully. There is scope for agreement, although not the way things are currently.

Senator Cullinane mentioned the following point. There are no specific guidelines for power lines, although there are such provisions in dealing with wind, roads and so forth. EirGrid probably did not want to see any specific planning guidelines for power lines until Grid25 was completed, at which time it would be like bolting the stable door when the horse was gone. Perhaps the committee could start at that point, which is what we must address if we are to go down this line. It should take in overgrounding and undergrounding, distance from homes and valuation of property. It is a major task and it will not be completed before next January or February, when we might be facing a new planning application. That should be done first.