Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish Ms Graham well. Having heard her CV she is undoubtedly amply qualified for the role in the ESB. I have some specific questions. At this time of the year we are all conscious that ESB staff members are out working in every type of weather, as they were yesterday in my part of County Limerick. They are out again this morning. They e-mail constituency offices to give us updates on wind damage. This time of the year also brings a fair amount of flooding, particularly in Cork city and Limerick. Both have hydroelectric power plants, on the Lee and the Shannon, and both are susceptible to flooding. In the recent past Cork city endured a devastating flood when the Inniscarra reservoir was essentially opened and Cork city was left vulnerable. Millions of euro worth of damage was done to private and public property and many people are still recovering from that.

Similarly, in Limerick the Shannon flows through Ardnacrusha. Limerick city is low lying and is very susceptible to tidal flooding. If there is a perfect storm with the fluvial and tidal flooding and the hydroelectric power plant, it is a very dangerous situation for people who live along the very narrow channel from Limerick city to Ardnacrusha and onto the base of Lough Derg. Will Ms Graham comment on what the ESB is doing at those two places, in particular, and any other places that have hydroelectric power plants that are dependent on the damming of rivers? Are there others in the country? Have flood risk analyses and assessments been carried out? Neither Cork nor Limerick wishes to have a repeat of what happened in 2008.

The other issue is the ESB's relationship with EirGrid. Representatives of EirGrid appeared before the committee recently and Ms Graham might have seen the exchanges that took place. Given her previous commercial role she will have a keen knowledge of the Northern Ireland energy market. It appears from the evidence the committee received that EirGrid is intent on putting the north-south interconnector through the counties of Cavan, Meath and Monaghan to facilitate an energy deficit in Northern Ireland. Obviously, the ESB could potentially be a beneficiary of that. The representatives of EirGrid said clearly to the committee that as far as they were concerned, under the instructions from the Commission for Energy Regulation based on the type of lattice structures that are proposed to be erected, the consumer in the Republic could look forward to a cut in their energy prices. I am not surprised that Ms Graham raised her eyebrows because pigs will fly before that will happen. What proposal does the ESB have to cut energy costs as a result of the interconnector being built from Maynooth to County Tyrone?

There is a final matter. I welcome the ESB's recent commitment to apprentices. That was hugely welcome. Down through the years the ESB has been regarded as a great company in which to work. Indeed, my learned colleague beside me is testament to that, although I am sure he can speak for himself. It was often a family business, in the sense that fathers, sons and daughters ended up working in the ESB. Will Ms Graham elaborate on what plans there are for future apprenticeships in the company?