Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

It is interesting that this is precisely what I was referring to in the last amendment, namely who is calling the shots particularly on policy. Policy should be retained in the hands of the Minister and the House. There is no point in saying this is European legislation transposed into our legislation. That is of no benefit to consumers here or those in charge of transmission. I am familiar with the cautious approach of Eirgrid and the regulators. We all have a reasonable idea as to the reasons for caution. What the Minister of State should demand is the scientific evidence and the technical evidence to back up the case. Is it instability or are there other reasons? If the Minister of State does not call for the proof and washes his hands of it and leaves the matter to the regulator more power, in terms of dictation of policy, will pass into the hands of regulators and we will walk along in their wake. I have said previously that there are more regulators here than there were in Texas after the American Civil War. Lessons were learned about them then that should stand us in good stead.

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