Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I would like to make two points. Given that EirGrid got the planning of the Grid West and Grid Link projects so wrong, without putting a tooth on it, is it feasible at this stage to take another look at the North-South interconnector? I suggest that it should be reconsidered in light of what has transpired with the Grid West and Grid Link projects. EirGrid has spent €12 million on the Grid Link project to date. My assessment from the outset was that a group of engineers within EirGrid looked at this project as a means of getting power from point A to point B, without factoring in the human cost or the human issue in this regard. State funding of €12 million has been spent on a project that is now being shelved or postponed. People in the communities out there are wondering whether this project is gone forever. Mr. Slye has said that EirGrid is looking at figures for the period up to 2025 to 2030, which is a span of ten to 15 years. Are we looking at this project coming down the line again? Can Mr. Slye say at this point that EirGrid's current preferred option, with which it is proceeding in the cases of the Grid West and Grid Link projects, will suffice right into the foreseeable future in terms of making sure there is energy right around the country? Is this being done on the basis of all the scientific evidence that is available to EirGrid and all the best practice reports? Can we be assured that EirGrid will not come back and put fear into communities again in ten or 15 years' time? Is the technology advancing so much that EirGrid can do that? I suggest that it needs to dispel absolutely the doubt that persists out there. I will conclude by repeating my first supplementary question. Given that EirGrid got this so wrong, is it time to look at the North-South interconnector as well and make a decision on it that would be more amenable to the communities in Cavan, Monaghan and Meath?