James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)

There is no dispute on this side of the House regarding this Bill, which is essentially a technical one. I join my colleagues in welcoming it and in supporting Eirgrid, which is patently highly qualified and competent to undertake the task in hand. It is to be hoped that the Bill's speedy passage through this House will facilitate the building of the east-west interconnector between Ireland and Britain, which is long overdue.

I do not intend to repeat the technical aspects of this Bill or to dwell on the merits of public versus private sector delivery of the project. I wish to focus on the issue of the heritage and environmental impacts of this initiative. While in no way querying or debating the urgent need for the construction of an interconnector to facilitate the rapidly expanding power needs of this country in the face of increases in the cost of coal, gas and oil and the potential lack of availability of same, I have grave worries about the environmental, heritage and health aspects of the initiative.

The project highlights a problem which has raised its head many times in the past 11 years, namely, the Government's lack of joined-up thinking. Solving one problem is fine but causing a rake of others at the same time is not so much a hallmark of this Government but an incurable affliction. Can the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources assure the House that he has given the necessary consideration to the appalling and totally unnecessary devastation of our landscape that building the infrastructure for the North-South interconnector over ground will cause? I am sure the Minister is familiar with the expression "penny wise and pound foolish". While it is probably easier and less costly in the short term to built over ground, the long-term implications could include environmental havoc and financial loss.

Public concern is the driving force behind the study the Minister commissioned into the cost, environmental impact and possible health hazards of overhead lines, as opposed to underground cables. The decision to undertake this study follows several months of protest in Counties Cavan and Meath, since Eirgrid announced its intention to route 56 km of high-voltage lines from Woodlands, County Meath, to Kingscourt in County Cavan. This decision could see pylons up to 40 m tall across both counties in the 400 kV transmission system. Such protest is extending to action against the suspension of the building of transmission lines through west Donegal and from Roscommon to Sligo. The jury is out on the health implications of such systems but anyone with an eye in his or her head can see the shocking implications for our tourist industry as scenic routes become surreal visions from pylon hell. This issue has been repeatedly highlighted by promoters of tourism and environmentalists. I am glad that the Minister is in the House today and I hope he is taking note of what I have to say. Overhead lines can have a devastating impact on the environment. In that context, I endorse the calls by Deputy McManus for an extension to the study to investigate the feasibility of an under-sea route for the east-west interconnector, with an opportunity to incorporate such an under-sea option in the North-South route.

I ask the Minister how his role in energy conservation marries with the real need to preserve our boglands. The balance between our reaction to climate change and the preservation of our unique heritage of the boglands and the art of turf-cutting is a delicate but essential link in the chain of environmental and energy policies. I am conscious of and support the need for CO2 emissions reductions but in an era when our national identity is subsumed more and more into globalised anonymity, turf-cutters must be protected. Generation after generation has cut turf in Ireland, particularly in the midlands where 1,500 jobs are at stake. Turf has been a major player in the provision of power and energy. Calls for the Minister to prevent the opening of new bogs for commercial purposes and the eventual closure of existing boglands are a blow to rural areas and I am glad Deputy Kelly is supporting me on this. It threatens not only livelihoods but also a way of life that cannot be restored once lost. I appeal to the Minister to take this into consideration.

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