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

I thank the Minister for his reply. I vehemently disagree with him that the views of communities, farmers and households have been taken into account in preparation for this project. This has not been the case. As the Minister knows better than I do, since this project was first initiated 16 years ago there have been great advances in technology which have enabled more undergrounding of similar transmission cables. We know there was a proposal to have overground cables in the Meath and Kildare project. Thankfully, from the point of view of the communities and people living in those areas, the project will be going ahead, I understand, with undergrounding of the transmission cables.

The international expert commission report of 2018 to which the Minister referred stated that overhead and underground options are both commercially viable. In various replies to parliamentary questions, it has been stated that the commission report referred to the overhead line being the most appropriate option. I do not see included in those replies to parliamentary questions the exact quotation from the report that both are commercially viable. The Department or EirGrid are not supplying the Minister with the proper information if they continue to say that communities, landowners and people living in the three counties have been properly consulted or listen to.

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