Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Minister of State have any idea when a determination will be finalised in respect of the planning project in Northern Ireland? How can a procurement process proceed even in its initial stages if there is not planning permission?

I recently mentioned to the Minister of State's colleague that we were told some years ago that the lights would go out in Northern Ireland if the North-South interconnector did not proceed within a very short timeframe. The most recent electricity generation reports published by Eirgrid and the System Operator for Northern Ireland, SONI, indicate clearly that there is a surplus of energy supply in Northern Ireland.

None of us is against the all-Ireland electricity market. We favour all-Ireland economic development. The Minister of State, however, should have been made aware by departmental officials and Eirgrid, if it is reporting correctly to the Department, that communities in Meath, Monaghan, Cavan, Armagh and Tyrone are vehemently opposed to the project as proposed. Communities deserve to be listened to. Most public representatives in Meath, Monaghan and Cavan have attended numerous public meetings where hundreds of people turned up to outline their concerns and their total opposition to the Eirgrid proposals as constituted.

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