Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

There is no question about the eminence, independence or competence of the Minister's panel. That was not the point that I made. I made the point that there are two formidable personalities on the panel who are driven by right-wing neo-liberal philosophies. That is bound to have an effect on the outcome in regard to the balance between ordinary people and the needs of the establishment and, in this case, costs. Does the Minister accept that undergrounding, at an extra cost, is worth the prize considering the fact that it will have much less effect on the environment and there are less concerns regarding people's health? It is demeaning to communities and individuals that have expressed their concerns about this huge pylon project for the Minister to describe them as being never happy unless they are unhappy. These people are faced with the prospect of having pylons placed beside them which will be 45 m in height and with cables carrying 400,000 volts of electricity giving rise to serious concerns about the effect of electromagnetic fields on health, particularly children's health.

These are all very serious concerns so people have a right to be unhappy, to express that unhappiness and to try to get the situation changed.

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