Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I speak to the Taoiseach on a weekly basis, including on issues such as the one the Deputy has raised. Last Monday week, we had a special Cabinet sub-committee meeting on climate change, which included a presentation from EirGrid and, as part of that, a discussion around the North-South interconnector. I have discussed the matter with the Deputy's party leader. I have also discussed it with Ms Nichola Mallon, the Minister responsible for infrastructure in the North, and Ms Diane Dodds, who is the Northern Ireland Minister with responsibility for industrial energy policy. In our discussions, we spoke about the critical all-island dimension of this project. We had a very interesting event in Government Buildings two weeks ago where we talked about how we can co-operate on environmental protection on a shared-island basis. That was mainly about nature-based solutions and climate adaptation.

I keep coming back to the point that the development of the North-South interconnector is crucial to all-island co-operation. When I mention it to the Taoiseach, I often put it to him from that shared island perspective. I fear, with absolute certainty, that if we do not proceed with the interconnector, we will lose what has been gained, as I said earlier. That tends to be one of the aspects that I refer to in my discussions of the project with the Taoiseach, the Deputy's party leader and anyone else who cares to listen.

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