Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)

The Minister could have saved himself a lot of time and just said "no", which seems to be the short answer to the question as to whether he would consider the rerouting of the cable away from the population of Rush. It is irrelevant that the project has been through the planning process. In many instances, ventures that are given planning permission have the permission altered and Eirgrid, as the Minister has acknowledged, is State-owned.

Rush is the only populated area through which this high voltage cable has been laid and while the ducting is largely underground, the cable itself has not been inserted. Could the Minister comment on the status of the Kema report into the safety concerns of residents about the cable, why it has not been factored in and why he has not instructed Eirgrid to wait for the report to be done? Crucially, why did his ministerial and party colleagues, while in opposition, give a commitment to the people in that town that if they were in Government after the election, they would ensure the cable was rerouted?

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