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

We have to maintain a certain independence. Sometimes as Minister it can be frustrating because I always seem to say in the first line of a response that I do not have responsibility for something or have to retain a certain distance, but that is true because of our legal systems and the need to allow regulatory agencies like the CRU and the ESB to operate.

I have been across this project for 20 years. I will be honest. My view is that the project is badly needed. I hope EirGrid will be able to deliver it while supporting and causing minimum disruption to local communities. We have to heed local community interests. Having an all-island electricity system is of huge benefit to the North and the South. The North is particularly disadvantaged at the moment. It is estimated that by the end of this decade, not having an interconnector will cost Irish consumer €87 million a year. Not proceeding with this will stymie the economy in the North and northern counties would be badly disadvantaged. The project is slightly further advanced in the North. It is a project that has to go ahead on both sides of the Border. I expect the CRU, the ESB and EirGrid, if they cannot get consent through voluntary mechanisms, to use the provisions of section 47 of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. The Act gives the CRU the power to grant special orders in that regard. I expect that will happen if we cannot get a voluntary agreement. I do not think the northern authorities want to go back to the drawing board.

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