Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The completion of the internal energy market was a major issue during the Irish Presidency. We managed to progress the file on that issue quite significantly. It is important, however, to draw a distinction. Completion of the internal energy market by 2014, and if memory serves we have a two year derogation, is to deal with the policy aspects in terms of design, regulation and so forth. It does not mean that the physical infrastructure will be in place by 2014 to integrate the European electricity system. It means the spade work ought to be completed by then. Ireland is one of the few countries that has made progress on that in terms of the east-west interconnector between Wales and Ireland. However, with regard to the phenomenal investment that will be required to give physical expression to the completion of the Internal Market across Europe, we are talking about billions of euro. It is going slowly.

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