John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The report produced by the independent consultants on behalf of the Government on the North-South interconnector was based largely on information and data from 2007 and 2008. EirGid has already admitted in its public documentation that this Grid Link project will go to planning in 2016. In the eight year intervening period it is reasonable to suspect technology will change substantially. I am struck by one point on the last page of the Minister's comments where he spoke about the responsibility of EirGrid for the transmission network in the most safe, secure, economic and reliable way possible. The cost-benefit analysis it conducts will be flawed if it does not include a judgment on the economic impact on individuals in terms of their households, the potential health impacts and, in particular, the potential impact on tourism, remembering that the south-east region already has the highest unemployment rate in the country. The analysis must encompass all aspects of cost.

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