Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am conscious that we were just talking about the challenges of climate change and how we will respond to it. One of the responses is undoubtedly to have better interconnection in our grid. There is not only this North-South interconnector which would allow 900 MW of renewable energy to come onto our grid, but also the project for an interconnector between Ireland and France. We need interconnection if we are to have an electricity market that is capable of decarbonisation. It is an absolute challenge for us as a nation to deal with this.

I accept that any change is challenging. I have not been involved in the planning process but I know from others that people had strong feelings. The planning process has been set up to be independent of the political system. That was done for very good reason and I am around long enough to know why it was done. We have to respect the independence of our planning system.

As I explained in the reply, the reason there is capacity to meet demand at the moment and the lights will not be going out is the extended life of coal-burning stations, two of which are now slotted for closure. Of course there will be contingencies to keep the lights on, but in terms of planning for the grid for the long term, interconnection is essential.

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