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

We listen acutely to communities. That is what all politicians do. We listen. I listen to a country where high energy prices are crippling people, as various Deputies said earlier. One of the benefits of having a North-South interconnector is that it would save Irish households significant amounts of money year in, year out. I hear people ask why we are so dependent on the distant fossil fuels that hold the country to ransom. An interconnector would also help us to develop and deliver our own power. I hear communities, particularly in Border regions, that have not had the same economic advantage and development that has occurred in other parts of their countries. I know an interconnector would also help to facilitate such economic development in the Border area. It is right and proper for us to try to get this economic development to these areas and not only in Dublin or the other cities. I hear communities who want an all-island approach in everything we do and who have a belief in national unity. I see no reason for us to break up our island with disintegration of the electricity market and not integrating our systems. What I hear is that communities in the Border counties want this united Ireland approach, which is what an interconnector will help bring.

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