Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I will do everything I possibly can to speed up the process but it is not entirely within our control. I am awaiting the report from CER which is investigating the matters I outlined earlier. Once that report is published, a decision has to be made on the ownership of the interconnector. More importantly, however, we must get agreement on both sides of the Irish Sea on the putting in place of the necessary infrastructure to enable the electricity to be transmitted. It would be desirable, as Deputy Durkan has argued, to have this project completed sooner rather than later and certainly I will do anything I can to speed up the process.

The planning process comes into play on this project, on both sides of the Irish Sea and there is a uncertainty regarding the length of time the planning aspects will take. As soon as I have the report and have made a decision on it, I will make it public and we will try to expedite the interconnector as quickly as possible after that.

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