Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

In the course of a conversation with the chief executive of the ESB, I asked him about this issue in the context of the €3 billion programme the company is undertaking to upgrade transmission lines and so forth. He informed me that the upgrade would overcome some of the technical difficulties regarding the grid.

ComReg is the body responsible for ensuring the ESB and others do not use their position to hinder alternative sources of energy, prevent connections and so forth. A limit has been imposed on the amount of wind energy permitted in the system. As I indicated, we should extend the planning timescale and take a longer term view as opposed to engaging, as heretofore, in short-term planning.

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