John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)

I will return to the promises made. A Government decision on 4 July authorised the Minister to request the commission to arrange the design of a competition to select a developer to construct a 500 MW electricity interconnector with Great Britain at the earliest possible date before 2012. It also authorised EirGrid as the transmission system owner to expedite the selection of a sub-sea route and other sites for the construction of an interconnector. The interconnector will be owned by EirGrid to ensure this strategic asset remains in public ownership. That is very important. Such a strategic asset should be in public ownership.

Since the Government decision, EirGrid and the commission have been steadily progressing the interconnector project and a detailed project plan has been developed to ensure delivery by 2012. The sooner we get this the better because at peak demand times EirGrid is under pressure to supply electricity throughout the country where and when it is needed.

EirGrid has selected Woodland in County Meath as the connection point for the interconnector on the Irish transmission system and has also secured a connection point from the UK national grid located in Wales. Work on marine surveys to determine the most suitable route for the under-sea cable to link these points is under way and the surveys are targeted for completion shortly. In December last year, EirGrid issued an invitation to negotiate documents to five pre-qualified tenders for the design and construction of the interconnector. Tenders are to be submitted by mid-May 2008 and EirGrid is targeting the end quarter of 2008 to announce a successful bidder. EirGrid is also targeting quarter three of 2011 for the completion of works and quarter one of 2012 for the completion of commissioning and testing and the start of commercial operations.

To oversee and ensure the delivery of the interconnector to schedule, a high-level co-ordination group has been established to continuously monitor progress on milestones and address obstacles to progress. The group is chaired by Mr. Michael Tutty, commissioner of the Commission for Energy Regulation, with representation from EirGrid and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

The interconnector will bring many benefits to our country. It will enhance security of supply. There is significant capacity available in the UK electricity generating market to provide security of supply via the interconnector to Ireland. In addition, the UK is developing interconnectors with mainland Europe to further contribute to security of supply and market integration. That would give us that vital link to Europe as well as the UK.

The interconnector will provide a fully dispatchable source of energy supply that will also provide the capacity and stability required to increase the extent to which renewable generation can be accommodated on the system. The interconnector will provide a mechanism by which such wind-generated electricity could be exported in the event of surplus energy generation. This is a very important point because we do not have an abundance of storage. It is important to have an output for what we can generate during off-peak times. I welcome that wind energy can be exported in this manner through the interconnector because many wind farms are coming on stream throughout the country and I am a major supporter of them. They can be of great benefit in supplementing the other forms of generation and I welcome that this will give the wind farm industry an outlet for the export of electricity when that is necessary.

The interconnector will lead to greater competition in the electricity market by allowing third party access in a fair, consistent and transparent manner. This will assert downward pressure on electricity prices and I welcome that — it is a true saying that competition is the life of trade. A third party competing in the electricity generation market would be very welcome. Competition can only lead to a better deal for the consumer.

The interconnector will diversify the fuel sources used to generate electricity on the Irish system. The environmental benefits will include greater potential to export wind power, reduced need to carry a reserve and reduced carbon credit payments. I very much welcome the Bill. I look forward to its safe passage and to it going to the committee for Committee Stage for further deliberation. I commend it to the House.

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