Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the Minister and the Ministers of State are here to listen to the debate tonight. The issues before us in this Fianna Fáil Private Members' motion reflect the serious concerns being expressed by communities in many counties throughout the country in respect of the proposed new power lines. From my own interaction with individuals and with representative groups in my own constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, I know they believe very strongly that EirGrid has not engaged in proper consultation.

The basic thrust of this motion requests the Government to provide for an international independent assessment of EirGrid's Grid 25 proposals to upgrade the national grid using overhead pylons. There has been widespread criticism of reports carried out in 2012 and 2013 on some aspects of the Grid 25 proposals. A constant criticism was the failure to factor in the very negative and widespread effects such pylons would have on areas and terrain that are an important and in many instances, unique feature for our tourism product. Not taking into account the impact on residential areas surely diminishes dramatically the value and the credibility of such reports. The loss of confidence in the EirGrid approach is driven by the inadequacy of those reports on the basis that their remit was too narrow. People believe that not taking into account their day to day concerns amounts to a total disregard of their own opinions on these issues.

People are realistic enough to accept and fully understand there will be a need to upgrade and modernise the transmission network. The project as envisaged to date would cast a blight on a large part of the countryside and be an unacceptable intrusion on countless individual homes. EirGrid needs to state very clearly to local communities that it will consider undergrounding the transmission cables, where possible. A large State or semi-State company must be conscious of the need to have the trust and confidence of local communities on whose grounds or lands it wishes to traverse and whose co-operation it needs. People are alarmed by the suggestions some pylons could be located within 30 m of a residential property.

There is a need for an independent international assessment of the EirGrid proposals. Undergrounding such transmission cables would not be a new departure, as such cables were placed underground in Cork in 2004, as my colleague Deputy Eamon Ó Cuív said. The undergrounding of these transmission lines followed from the work of an independent mediator. If large tracts of the countryside are populated with these large structures, a major visual change will have occurred in the countryside that we all value so much. Thereafter, there could only be a visual improvement by undergrounding cables.

The Fáilte Ireland comments are significant and referred to "the character of the landscape and the various aspects of the cultural heritage". Fáilte Ireland refers to the fact that damage could be done to those traits of the countryside by the erection of such structures near to those areas of particular cultural heritage and the character of their landscapes. The landscape was given to us. It should be nurtured and cultivated properly. As a society, we should do everything we can to protect the great strengths of that landscape. That does not in any way prevent modern developments carried out within certain parameters and with proper planning and consultation with the people who live in these areas.

The North-South 400 kV interconnector development has been in the planning and design process for some time. The project has been the source of major concern for many communities in County Monaghan, particularly in Corlea, Muff and Kingscourt and other parts of County Cavan. The people who spoke to me at the weekend strongly expressed their concerns that there was no proper consultation by EirGrid. One cannot win the trust of the people if they do not believe their views and opinions have been taken into consideration in advancing and planning a project.

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