Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

I thank the Minister for his reply. I certainly hope that EirGrid has got it right. There is some concern, however, that we have problems with old plant that have not been invested in. In addition, we have a phenomenon of forced outages that should not be occurring if we had the full, up-to-date modernised infrastructure that we need. It might help if the Minister advised his ministerial colleague, Deputy Ó Cuív, and made him aware of the situation. It would be no harm to do so. The Minister should also advise his other Cabinet colleagues about the importance of ensuring that the North-South interconnector is delivered. We cannot afford to have such infrastructure being unduly delayed at a time when we have clear knowledge that when money was not put into infrastructure and plant difficulties, including failures, arise. There is ongoing concern that we might not be able to meet the need at any point. I am sure the Minister shares that concern and therefore speedy investment is required in infrastructure, whether it is for the interconnector or power stations. I know the Minister is committed to the interconnector but, to put it bluntly, we need to hear from the Fianna Fáil Ministers in this respect.

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