John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will concentrate on the EirGrid project. Despite being the head of communications in this country, the Minister has failed abjectly to communicate a clear and comprehensive account of the Government's involvement in the project. I am not saying this is intentional, but the feeling outside the House and among many of us here is that such is the case. The Government has stood idly by while EirGrid has displayed what I can only describe as heinous arrogance towards local communities. With the local elections looming, no doubt Government Members are being made aware by their colleagues at all levels of the unrest across the country over the proposed GridLink and Grid West projects. Despite making a significant proportion of the 35,000 submissions received by EirGrid, we are still left with unanswered questions.

The issue of costs has been clung onto by the Government on many occasions. There have been significantly varying estimates of the cost, for instance, of undergrounding, an issue I will go through carefully. At one point the Minister stated it would treble the cost of the project. Elsewhere he was quoted as saying it would add 3% annually to energy costs. The Taoiseach offered a figure of €600 million, yet the renowned Professor Denis Henshaw who has worked in the area for 20 years suggests burying cables would cost everybody in the country a mere €4 a year over the lifetime of the pylons. One can understand how people are confused. Many politicians are confused. Many believe the way forward is to bury the cables, yet we are given confusing estimates of the cost by various Departments. In fairness to the Opposition and those on the ground, we need to know, for once and for all, what the cost would be of putting the cables underground. We do not want one Department to give one figure and the Taoiseach to give another, with a professor providing a different one. I am especially disappointed, given the understandable concerns being expressed in many rural areas, not to mention in the aforementioned 35,000 submissions, that the Government has failed to order a full independent review of the project. Where is the credibility in appointing a so-called independent panel which will only be able to examine studies produced by EirGrid. That is not independent and not fair.

Given the significant legitimate health concerns being expressed, particularly by the parents of young children, why has no health expert been brought in? I am not a health expert and accept that some of the findings are controversial. I also accept that some of them may well be dubious. However, the World Health Organization, if one looks back over a number of years, has made various recommendations. It is important, if the project is to go ahead, that we at least conduct some health study. If the Government was to do so, we would be able to say Ireland had initiated an independent health study. It would only be to the benefit of the Government if it was to state it was initiating such a study. Let us not go with what the World Health Organization or some health expert in England or Scotland is saying; we need to initiate our own study which would allay the fears of many. Many people do not want the pylons, but there are fears that there is a health issue and we have done nothing to allay them.

I also want to know if the Government can clarify whether the remit of the independent panel will include the North-South interconnector and an extension of the review has been granted for this purpose. We need to know if this is the case. Will the cost of repairs and maintenance, the cost of repairing the damage done to health, the cost to tourism, the cost in terms of property devaluation and the damage done to the view, all be considered by the body being put in place? I note that a new report by the London School of Economics has revealed that the presence of wind farms can reduce property values by as much as 11%. This independent and extensive report was initiated by an all-party group in England. It examined over 1 million sales of property located close to wind farms over a 12 year period. Given this consistent pattern and the fact that so many in this country are drowning in negative equity, surely property devaluation should be central to the Government's review. I earnestly ask the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, to look at this comprehensive report produced by the London School of Economics. I have read it and there has been no criticism of it in England by any of the British Government parties. Incidentally, those involved travelled as far as France and stated conclusively that properties had been devalued by a figure of 11%. Regardless of the findings of the independent commission, there will be no tangible change to the policy of not placing high voltage electric cables underground.

The Minister has previously admitted his own failure to explain the separate nature of the pylon and wind farm projects which have contributed to the ongoing controversy. I ask him to state at some stage what portion of the electricity to be transported via the proposed pylons will be destined for essential use in Ireland.

This is something we must explain to the people. We are told the pylons are required for domestic supplies only, yet power usage in Ireland at the height of the boom was 25% higher than at present and there were no outages and shortages. This must be explained clearly. Various Deputies in various constituencies are saying we need the power supply and that we will not export supplies. People do not believe this because we have heard experts on the "Today with Sean O'Rourke" programme saying we do not and will not need it for years to come. Can we foresee a situation where new pylons will facilitate proposed wind farms in the midlands? Can the Minister categorically state any electricity to be transported along the pylons is not intended for export from private wind farm companies? People are not fools and are beginning to wise up in terms of the power supplies we will need in the coming ten to 15 years. It would, therefore, be advisable to tell them the truth. If we are going to export power supplies and make money from it, the Government should say so. We should remember the cost in so doing.

The Government is failing to communicate a clear message on how pylons will facilitate job creation and curb emigration. Are we talking about jobs in and emigration from the regions the pylons will plough through? We do not know because there is no provision for an electricity supply to the dozens of rural areas through which the pylons will pass. Many of us have gone to meet EirGrid representatives who have stonewalled Deputies, as some Deputies on the Government side have acknowledged. They are unable to give us statistics and facts and how they treat people is outrageous. They set up meetings in hotels around the country, but they tell us very little. I am not here to run down the Minister, Deputy Pat Rabbitte, because I like him, but he is doing himself an injustice in not providing the answers to questions other Deputies and I have asked in the past few months. If we were honest with people and carried out an investigation into health issues, including examining the studies conducted in London and France, we could see how we should push forward on this matter. This would be preferable to backing up what EirGrid is doing and accepting everything it states to the public, which is very little. We owe this to hundreds of thousands of people.

It is easy to use expletives, but people are outraged. I have attended three meetings in Waterford, one of which was attended by almost 1,000 people, even though it was lashing rain outside. They brought along their children and said they would not accept the proposals made. They do not have proper information and are being treated appallingly by EirGrid. I made a submission to it and it took months to get an answer to it. it treats politicians with contempt, as well as the general public. I did not come here to criticise the Minister, but we must be more informative in dealing with the public and find out whether we need the pylons proposed.

I do not want to insult the Minister for Education and Skills, but I will be unable to remain in the Chamber when he speaks, as I have to attend another meeting.

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