Mr. John O'Connor:

I shall commence by apologising for having a head cold. I hope that it does not get in the way of our communications.

I thank the committee for affording me an opportunity to meet and outline, at an early stage, my thinking and approach that I will take if my appointment as chairperson of EirGrid is formalised. I am honoured to have been invited by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, to chair the board of EirGrid following the expiry of the previous chairperson’s term of office.

In terms of State companies, EirGrid is of the first rank of importance to the social and economic well-being of the whole island of Ireland. As the operator of the electricity grid transmission system and the single electricity market, its activities touch the lives of every person and business on the island by providing a safe and reliable supply of electricity to homes and businesses at the cheapest possible rate. It is vital to the competitiveness of both economies and to environmental sustainability.

At this point, I shall outline my own background. I was born and reared on a farm in north west County Cork near the source of the River Blackwater and now live in east Cork on the Blackwater estuary. I have spent 35 years in the Department of the environment during which I held positions as finance officer, principal in housing policy and finance and assistant secretary in charge of the planning and water division. In these capacities, I was involved in many innovative measures, including shared ownership, the first policy and legislation to counteract social segregation in housing, reform of building society legislation, the modernisation and consolidation of planning legislation, the national spatial strategy and the modernisation of water legislation. During the period I served on the boards of three commercial state bodies, namely, the Housing Finance Agency, Temple Bar Properties and the Dublin Docklands Authority.

In 2000, I was appointed chairperson of An Bord Pleanála following the statutory selection process and in 2007 I was re-appointed for a further four-year term to bring me up to retirement age. In that position it was my duty to chair the full-time board of up to 12 members and to act as the executive head of the organisation that had up to 160 staff. During much of my time as chairperson, An Bord Pleanála operated under intense pressure arising out of a large increase in its workload.

There was a considerable increase in productivity in the organisation without affecting the quality of its work.

The Planning and Development Act 2000 transferred to An Bord Pleanála the functions of the planning consent authority and compulsory purchase order confirmation for the national roads programme. Subsequently, the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 similarly assigned to An Bord Pleanála the same functions in regard to other major national infrastructure, including energy, transport and environmental projects. This arose out of widespread concerns about the delays and uncertainties around planning consent for critical infrastructure projects which were inherent in the local planning application and appeal procedures. At the time, there were demands for the setting up of a new strategic infrastructure consent body but I was able to persuade the Government that it would be better to assign the function to An Bord Pleanála. I considered it essential that the same standard and rigour of planning and environmental assessments as apply to planning applications generally would apply and be seen to apply to strategic infrastructure projects under the new regime.

During my long period of service in the Department and An Bord Pleanála, I have developed a deep appreciation of our environment and heritage. I regard them as unique assets in which every citizen has a legitimate interest and which we hold in trust for future generations. They go to the heart of our identity and culture and must weigh very heavily in proposing, or deciding on, any development that might affect them. I am happy that my actions in the Department and in An Bord Pleanála, as reflected in the decisions of that body during my period in the chair, bear out my beliefs. Members will be aware that An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for some strategic infrastructure projects and required major changes to others.

About a year ago, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Phil Hogan, asked me to chair the pyrite resolution board. This board was set up initially on an informal basis to deal with the damage caused by pyritic heave to dwellings and the hardship inflicted on home owners. The Minister will introduce legislation shortly to establish the pyrite resolution board on a statutory basis. Developing solutions to this problem has taken considerable effort and I have been devoting a lot of time to it. However, I expect that when the arrangements for the remediation programme are finalised following the enactment of the legislation, the time commitment required of me will be reduced and I am happy that it will not, in any way, interfere with my chairmanship of EirGrid.

In taking over the chairmanship of EirGrid, I believe I am going into a well-run company that has delivered on its mandate and coped very well with the fundamental changes in the electricity market on the island of Ireland over the past decade. The east-west interconnector has been a major success for EirGrid. Hence, I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the outgoing chairperson, Ms. Bernie Gray, and to the other members of the board. The 450 staff in Dublin and Belfast are also to be commended on their commitment and performance.

Taking the chair of such an important company is quite a daunting prospect. However, I hope that by virtue of my experience and the skills I have developed, I will guide the board and company to further success in meeting the challenges that lie ahead in an ever-changing world. My experience has taught me that there are certain basic competencies which any chairperson of a company such as EirGrid should have. Leadership involves creating a vision for the organisation and unambiguously committing personally to that vision. It also means having the self-confidence to give effective team leadership and handle difficult board situations that may arise. The chair also needs to be able to challenge received wisdom, ask questions and analyse the answers, and to think strategically in terms of time, scope and context. Decisiveness and the ability to bring matters to a conclusion is another quality I have learned to be essential. An awareness of communications is also essential in the modern world. This involves listening and the ability to convey views and decisions clearly and concisely. I will strive to bring whatever attributes I have in these areas to the benefit of the EirGrid board and executive as it continues on its mission “to provide quality, efficient, independent transmission and market services for the benefit of everyone across the island of Ireland”.

EirGrid has a number of key priority objectives for the period ahead. The first of these is to operate a safe, reliable and economic electricity system across the island based on a competitive and sustainable wholesale market. Energy prices are one of the most critical elements of competitiveness, which is so important if we are to attract investment and make the kind of economic progress which is vital to the welfare of all Irish people. The second is the effectiveness and timely delivery of the grid infrastructure in a manner that protects the environment to the greatest extent possible and that encourages a more diversified and lower carbon electricity generation profile and, in the process, takes on board the views of local communities. No region of the island should be disadvantaged in competing for investment because of inadequate electricity infrastructure. A third objective would be to utilise and develop cutting edge technology to facilitate better integration of renewable, including small scale renewable, generation. All of these objectives must be pursued in a way that will enable us to achieve the mandatory 40% renewable target by 2020.

These objectives will require considerable resourcefulness and effort by the EirGrid board and staff over the next few years. None of them can be taken for granted. However, the second objective, namely, the delivery of grid infrastructure, is probably the most challenging at the moment, having regard to the level of public controversy currently surrounding it. At the opening of the east-west interconnector, the EU Energy Commissioner said that the need for energy infrastructure development is one of the biggest energy challenges facing the EU. Grid25 is EirGrid’s programme for the development of Ireland’s transmission system and I note that this document was endorsed specifically in the Government Policy Statement on the Strategic Importance of Transmission and Other Energy Infrastructure published in 2012. This document underlines the need and urgency for new energy infrastructure and the need for the public to have confidence that it adheres to the highest international standards of safety, health and environmental and visual impact. It further states that the Government has confidence that the national, regional and local planning framework and the Strategic Infrastructure Act provide the framework for ensuring that all necessary standards are met and that extensive public consultation with communities are key to creating public confidence. On the basis of my current knowledge, I have no reason to believe that EirGrid is pursuing the implementation of the Grid25 programme other than in accordance with these policies.

On taking up office as chairperson, I will work with the board to ensure the company plans these projects in an effective manner that minimises the effects on the visual environment and the natural and built heritage, and that gives the fullest assurance to people that there is no risk to their health or safety. I strongly subscribe to the idea that meaningful public consultation with local residents, property owners and communities is an indispensable element of this. I can assure the committee and, indeed, the public that all feedback received during each phase of the consultation will be given due consideration in the development of the projects. Furthermore, each project is reviewed at key milestones, taking into account the most up-to-date information available, in conjunction with the feedback from the consultations. Every issue raised during the consultation phases will be dealt with in a fully transparent manner. I also believe that the idea of community gain, as a means of compensating communities for unavoidable impacts, can be further developed to the benefit of local communities.

To be clear, I will not, of course, involve myself in individual planning applications, attend oral hearings or anything of that nature. It should also be noted that it is not EirGrid that will make the final decision on these projects. When EirGrid, after its extensive deliberations, has decided on the most appropriate solution in each case, it will make an application to An Bord Pleanála under the Strategic Infrastructure Act. During the preparatory stages, it would also have held pre-planning consultations with An Bord Pleanála. In accordance with established practice, An Bord Pleanála will then hold an oral hearing into the application, at which all objectors will be heard, before making its decision to approve, reject or require an amendment of the proposal. The board is the totally independent arbiter of these applications and it would be an offence in law for anybody to seek to influence its decision improperly.

I would like to take this opportunity to refute emphatically the reported suggestions that I would have a conflict of interest in taking up the position. A conflict of interest is defined as a situation where personal and professional interests might conflict with those of the organisation and its stakeholders. My chairpersonship of An Bord Pleanála ended in June 2011 and, since that date, I have had no involvement with the board, nor could I have. My standing with An Bord Pleanála is the same as any other citizen. There is no conflict between my personal interests and those of EirGrid arising out of my previous chairmanship of An Bord Pleanála. My motivation for agreeing to take on this position is one of public service. I believe that public service is a privilege. If the Government and the Minister consider that I can make a contribution, however small, to the welfare of the people of this island by taking this role, then I am pleased and honoured to do so.

I will carry into this the convictions that I have held throughout my career, serving the public in an honest and transparent manner, protecting our environment and heritage and using our resources carefully. I hope that I will be able to repay the trust that has been placed in me. Once again I thank the committee for hearing me. In my previous roles I have always striven for a good constructive working relationship with the relevant committees. I want it to be the same on this occasion. I would be keen to keep the committee informed of EirGrid’s progress and to hear its views from time to time on our performance.

I will be glad to take any questions or listen to any comments from the Chairman or the committee members. I am sure members will appreciate that at this stage my capacity for detail is limited. It is only a short time since I was asked to take up this position and I have not yet had a chance to attend a board meeting or to go into detail about the various issues affecting the company.