Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy said, we have traced this territory from the beginning of the meeting. He is right in that there have been very emotional public meetings - there is no disputing that. Without going back over what I have said several times, on the Deputy's specific question about health, the Deputy will be aware that as part of the decision I took in respect of the expert panel, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government is required by the Government decision to engage expert advice to review the EMF question as between 2006 or 2008, or whatever year it was, to date. He is to bring his report to the Government as soon as it is complete to bring us up to 2014 in respect of that particular concern.

As regards EirGrid postponing the North-South interconnector until the panel completes it work, that decision has not been made. As Deputy Mulherin established earlier, the expert panel, under the chairmanship of the former Supreme Court judge, Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness, has not yet published its terms of reference. The Deputy can imagine the task they have been engaged in terms of bringing themselves up to speed with the reports that have been done and the complexity of the issues that are at stake. What I said to Deputy Mulherin was that I expect, without knowing, that after its next meeting it is likely to publish its terms of reference but no decision has been made by EirGrid to postpone the planning application.

As regards John O'Connor, the new chairman of EirGrid, and his statement that he would not like to live in close proximity to a pylon, I must say that his answer greatly encouraged me that I had appointed the right man to chairman of EirGrid. If his honest belief is that he would not want to live in close proximity to a pylon, surely it was correct that he said that and answered it honestly and let people make what they will of it. That is the man's view and he is a man of very strong views. In my own view, as somebody who lives beside plenty of pylons in Clondalkin, if the Deputy has ever driven through it, I must say he is the right man for the job.

On the Deputy's question about wind turbines, the clean-up afterwards, the residue and all of that, I do not think in 2014 that is a problem. It is a bit like the problems we used to have with mining in this country - the problems we had Tina Mines, for example. That could not be replicated today. The remediation process has to be looked after by the mining authorities and the mine owners, as in the case of the Vice Chairman's constituency where we are dealing with some of the issues at present. It would be a requirement that whatever is the residual situation, it would be remediated and put back in proper condition.

I am not going to intrude into the area of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. In respect of the planning consultation that they are assessing, I presume they will announce their conclusions.

I presume the conclusions of the planning consultation will be announced. I do not know how early they will be announced but it will be reasonably early. The public consultation phase has concluded and it is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Ministers of State at the Department to make their decision.