Mr. Garrett Blaney:

I apologise as I must have misconstrued something. It is clear from the Deputy's questions that I have not got the right message across. It is not solely a benefit to Northern Ireland - the benefit is all-island. The benefit to the consumer in the Republic of Ireland is significant and will grow over time. I was at the launch last week of the investment in Great Island and this and other investments would not have happened if we had had a smaller, more constrained market only in the Republic of Ireland. From an investment and efficiency point of view it is essential to have a bigger market in which to invest. The cost benefits, amounting to reductions of €10 million, are equally shared across the island and the cost of the interconnector is shared 50-50.

The benefits are significant for the Republic and are growing with the potential for new investment to come once the infrastructure is in place, even in the Meath and Monaghan areas when the new lines come in. There have been power plants looking at those locations but in the past there were infrastructural constraints.