Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We fully support the North-South interconnector project which is not to connect Ireland with some mythical country called Northern Ireland but to connect two parts of Ireland. The piece of infrastructure is vital if we are to have a fully developed energy market across the country that is secure, efficient and environmentally sustainable and that can deliver real gains by significantly reducing costs, North and South. If the project is completed successfully, it will help to secure the future electricity needs for homes, farms, businesses and communities, help Ireland to meet its renewable energy targets for the period 2020 and 2030 and provide a platform for further economic development and growth.

It makes sense to plan on an all-Ireland basis. Many businesses and industries already look at Ireland as a whole. Partitionist thinking until now in the planning of national infrastructure is what has made the interconnector necessary. The transmission network is considerably restricted where electricity transmission lines cross the Border. There is a lack of connection in the Border region which limits power flow either way and does not prevent great stress on the power grid. We understand this.

Only three transmission connections traverse the entire length of the Border, only one of which has any significant capacity. This creates inefficiencies which lead to extra costs for all electricity users. That is why we support the advancement of the project via underground cables. We cannot ignore the concerns of communities living within range of the planned construction. This is not something with which we will deal a decade from now, but if the Government and EirGrid plough ahead with it in its current form, it is certain it will be delayed by several years. Communities have strongly objected to the current plans and have strong concerns, particularly about its effects on tourism, agriculture and health in local areas. Forcing through such a project without proper community consultation is certain to result in further local opposition and legal challenges which will take years to resolve. When the Government costed the overhead line, did it factor in the added costs of delays, as well as legal costs? We know that €34 million has already been spent on overhead line planning. It is estimated that the loss per annum as a result of the delays in the project is anything up to €30 million.

Underground projects have been successfully completed in Ireland and abroad. I draw the Minister's attention to the Rush to Woodlands project in County Meath and the ALEGrO project which runs from Germany to Belgium. It has proved to be a model for how this can be done and the infrastructure can be built. The Government needs to take a closer look at the cost-benefit analysis of underground transmission lines. The international expert commission employed by a previous Government found that putting the cables underground was a viable option. We question the arguments put forward that the project must proceed overhead.

There would be benefits in undergrounding resulting in long-term savings in maintenance. Underground networks do not require the same level of maintenance as overhead networks. Underground cables have lower transmission losses and a much longer lifespan than overhead lines. Disturbance to underground cables is less frequent than to overhead cables which are affected by severe weather, something we must take into consideration. In Germany a project extending to almost 100 km has cost €263 million in total. I do not have time to rattle off all of the costs associated with the project, but they are running at between €500 million and €600 million for 140 km.

We reiterate our support for the North-South interconnector project to connect the two parts of Ireland, but the project will never reach completion unless the Government and EirGrid engage with communities on the underground option and they change their attitude. The Government's amendment is a serious dilution of the motion. It mentions being cognisant of matters, but in local authority speak this is the same as having regard to, which those of us who have served in local authorities know does not mean anything. We need to be open to new technologies. The Government is behind the curve. We need to look at recent developments in the past two to four years and move ahead with undergrounding the project.

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