Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Heads of Bill will be coming before the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment in the very near future. We will be discussing the necessary legislation. Every one of us in this room would have always thought, for example, that the ESB had all-empowering legislation backing it in doing what it wanted to when it came to the protection of overhead lines. That actually was not the case. There are a number of issues in this. If we are going to change rules and regulations, as the Deputy knows, we have to protect the very important person who owns the land. We want to protect the viability and security of the power line going through the land but we also cannot go in with our size 9s, take out timber and make land redundant without looking at a compensation scheme for the farmers who would be affected. We will protect the power lines but we also have to make sure that we protect the income and finances of the farmers who will be affected. That work is ongoing. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, has done excellent work, as have officials in this regard. The Deputy will be hearing much more about this in the coming months.