Shane Cassells (Meath West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is the Minister saying that Eirgrid is flagrantly ignoring the democratic process and that it does not have his or the Government's tacit approval to proceed in this way? The people in my county and the north-east pylon pressure group want to make it clear to Eirgrid that it may dictate to the Minister, the Government and Department officials how it plans to proceed with the interconnector, but when it enters the real world it will not dictate any of its discredited plans to the affected landowners or communities. The ESB should also wake up the damage that will be caused to its reputation by aiding and abetting Eirgrid in supporting direct confrontation with the farming community, the landowners and the ordinary decent people of Meath, Cavan and Monaghan.

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