Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Cooney. I like it when the Deputy says it is time for less talk and more work. To show the Deputy what work is going on, this is a matter that I am dealing with at the forest windblow task force, which met again yesterday morning. Subsequent to the meeting I and the Ministers, Deputies Heydon and O'Brien, had with the ESB last week, officials from the Department are exploring what we need to do to get on to the next phase, that is, the necessary legislation that might be required to allow this work go on.

The Deputy will appreciate that while work will have to be done, you cannot go on to a person's land where there is, for example, a corridor created already and a wayleave may have been agreed with the forest owner 20 years ago. The landowner might have been compensated for that at a certain width. If we are to come along now to that landowner and say that it must be a greater width, we must have legislative powers. Second, we cannot go to a person with our hands hanging. We have to be able to say we want to create a bigger wayleave. The Deputy, on behalf of his constituents, will say the landowner will have to be compensated. We cannot go into a person's land willy-nilly and say we will do this because landowners have to be respected.

The Deputy is right to raise the fact that it is the duty of the Government to protect power lines and the energy going into people's homes. In the programme for Government, people were thinking ahead. That never happened previously.

It is a recognition of the fact that our storms are becoming stronger and having an effect on the energy that goes into people’s homes. At the same time, the Government has been telling people to rely more on the ESB. The more they rely on the ESB, however, the more they need it. We have a duty in this regard. Deputy Cooney is doing great work. It is not his first time raising this matter since the storm. He has been over and back to Agriculture House regularly to discuss it. I want the people of Clare to know that.

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