Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá ceist agam faoin ábhar céanna. The Taoiseach's replies have missed the point which is that there is a groundswell of opinion in opposition to the erection of a series of huge electricity pylons across the Irish countryside. EirGrid has received 35,000 submissions and there have been calls for a fair and transparent consultation process. Up until yesterday, the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, were defending EirGrid's plans and they did so in a very dismissive and flippant manner. The Taoiseach proposed that this would be a solution for dealing with emigration. Given the scattering of hundreds of thousands of our young people, that was a crass and insensitive remark.

Sinn Féin's position from the outset has been that EirGrid should only proceed with the proposed project on the basis that the lines will be under-grounded. The issue is whether they are over ground or underground. We learned from the media that yesterday's announcement is clearly timed to coincide with the upcoming local and European elections and to push this issue beyond May. However, there is confusion. The Taoiseach did not answer Deputy Calleary's question. Is the North-South interconnector to be subject to this review? The Taoiseach's colleague, Deputy Seán Conlan, says that the Taoiseach gave him and Fine Gael Deputies a personal commitment that it would be part of the remit of this panel. EirGrid's chief executive officer says he is not aware of it. Tá ceist nó dhó agam. I ask the Taoiseach to clarify whether the North-South interconnector will be included in the review. Will he tell the House whether the potential health implications of over ground pylons are excluded from the terms of reference of the panel? Why is there no health expert on the panel?

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