Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I wish to share time with Deputy Seymour Crawford.

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Shane McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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On 6 February the Minister announced he was commissioning an independent study on the national transmission line infrastructure. Subsequently, his Department set a deadline of 29 February for the receipt of tenders from potential consultants and announced 7 March as the deadline for receipt of submissions from interested parties to the consultants. The Department's offer for tenders indicated that 40 days would be allowed for completion of the study and that it would be completed by the end of May.

We are now at 8 April and it has taken until today for the Minister to officially announce the name of the consultants who will carry out this extremely important study. It has taken the Minister and his Department two months to come up with a name and that is an unacceptable delay for the people I represent.

If I had not pressed for this adjournment matter this evening, would the Minister have continued to put the announcement on the long finger? I note that the consultants appointed are Ecofys from the Netherlands, assisted by Golder Associates from Canada. These companies are well respected in their fields and I wish to put on the record that they are collaborating closely as joint venture partners in a number of other countries. Ecofys operates in the area of wind power generation and Golder Associates in engineering and environmental works. Neither company, however, has expertise in the construction and management of overground or underground high power electricity lines.

Ecofys acted as consultants on a major section of the all-island grid study commissioned by, and recently completed for, the Department. Given the study's recommendation that more than 600 km of the high power lines of the grid will have to be strengthened, as EirGrid now proposes in the north east, it could be perceived that the independence and impartiality of Ecofys to carry out this study on the underground versus overground issue is compromised. On the face of the known facts, there is a conflict of interest.

I have a number of questions to ask the Minister. Will he accept that the appointment of Ecofys, assisted by Golder Associates, means the study will lack the necessary expertise and experience to do a proper job? Ecofys worked on the final report of the all-island grid study, which is the basis on which EirGrid is proceeding with its pylons proposal. Therefore, one would have to question the independence and impartiality of Ecofys to carry out this study. I note that the Minister is citing early June as the date for completion of the study but this is a ludicrously tight deadline for completion of this massive, complex undertaking. More than 500 members of the public and interested parties sent submissions to the Minister's Department for consideration by the consultants. Would the Minister agree that to even read those 500 submissions properly would take up to early June?

There is still time for the Minister to get this right as it is better to get it done right than to get it done quickly. Too much is at stake here for the people of Meath, Cavan and Monaghan. The Minister must re-advertise for a properly qualified firm of international consultants to carry out this study and he must allow far more than 40 days for its completion. Until it is completed, the Minister must instruct EirGrid not to proceed with any further planning or preparation on this project.

Two months ago we discussed this matter with the Minister and for four weeks the people of Meath, Cavan and Monaghan came here and felt they would be part of this process. To read of it in a newspaper two weeks ago was an insult to all of those involved and to the work of this House. It is wrong that it was necessary to force the Minister to make a statement today. It is unacceptable that stakeholders were not consulted and I call on the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Tony Killeen, to ask the Minister to contact the north-east pylon pressure group and EirGrid to have them engage in discussions in the same room. This matter should not be allowed to drag on for eight to ten years but it seems that may happen.

Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank my colleague Deputy Shane McEntee for allowing me part of his time to speak on this extremely important issue. As one who was involved in debate with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, I am disappointed that no consultation took place between the north-east pylon pressure group and the Minister before the consultancy group was announced.

The campaign group is a very reasonable and pragmatic collection of people who are genuinely concerned about their futures and the futures of their family members, who will have to live near or adjacent to the proposed line through counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan into Northern Ireland as a cross-Border interconnector.

I understood that independent consultants that had no previous involvement with EirGrid would be appointed, however it seems that the very company appointed by the Minister has had clear involvement in the recent study carried out on behalf of the Government, the all-island grid study. This is the very study that recommended more than 600 km of high grid power lines. They have already decided that the lines should go over ground. It would seem at this stage, if these are the facts, that there would clearly be a conflict of interest. It is very difficult to understand how a company such as this could in 40 days deal with all the submissions supplied to it, never mind carry out a detailed study of what it would actually cost to put the cable underground.

Even at this late stage I call on the Minister, together with his officials, to meet the people representing the owners of the land and property in Cavan, Monaghan and Meath before this study goes ahead. Clearly if this is not done other studies will be carried out, legal cases will ensue and the much needed cross-Border link will be delayed.

The Minister, Deputy Ryan, made a breakthrough when he said he would introduce an independent study. It is now up to him to meet the people concerned in the north-east pylon pressure group and EirGrid and find an amicable solution. I urge the Minister to deal with this matter in the manner he dealt with us in the committee. I believe he can find a reasonable solution but this approach will not solve the problem.

Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Ryan, announced earlier today that he has appointed international consultants Ecofys to undertake the independent study on the comparative merits of overhead electricity transmission lines versus underground cables. The consultants were appointed following a tender process launched on 29 February on the Government's eTenders website. Ecofys, which is based in the Netherlands, with offices in 12 different countries worldwide, specialises in energy saving and renewable energy solutions.

Ecofys will also utilise the services of Golder Associates, a global group of consulting companies specialising in ground engineering and environmental services. Golder has provided environmental consultancy services for a range of electricity generation and transmission related projects in Ireland and the UK.

The planning, development and routing of transmission line infrastructure is a matter for EirGrid, which is a wholly State-owned company. EirGrid has responsibility for operating the electricity transmission system in Ireland, including the wholesale electricity trading system. It delivers connections, transmission and market services to generators, suppliers and customers, using the high voltage electricity system. It is also responsible for planning the construction of high voltage transmission lines.

In the course of EirGrid's pre-planning public consultations on proposed routes for the North-South and Meath-Cavan transmission lines, concerns were expressed locally about the impacts of overhead transmission lines. Noting that these concerns are likely to be common to all transmission line projects, and in order to provide clarity on issues in relation to overhead versus underground transmission lines, the Minister, Deputy Ryan, decided that the Department would commission an independent national study on this issue. In doing so, he was also taking account of the views of Deputies from all sides of the House.

The aim of the study is to provide further clarity and information on all of the issues in relation to underground cables and overhead lines. In so doing, we can help inform decisions on all current and future transmission line projects. As part of its ongoing transmission development plan, and in line with the Government's energy policy White Paper, EirGrid is currently planning the construction and reinforcement of a number of transmission lines.

The recently published all-island grid study also estimated the transmission infrastructure investments needed to accommodate increasing levels of renewable electricity and affirmed that up to 42% renewable energy is potentially feasible, requiring over 600 km of additional transmission lines. EirGrid is also finalising a long-term grid development strategy to 2025 which will set out plans for the next two decades.

The Ecofys study is to be conducted on a national basis. Its purpose is to provide the best available professional advice on the relative merits of constructing and operating overhead transmission lines compared to underground cables. It will have regard to technical characteristics, reliability, operation and maintenance factors, environmental impact, possible health issues and cost.

The consultants have been specifically asked to provide professional advice covering a review of electrical power transmission technologies currently in use for transmission of electricity of 110 kV and above. They will examine the factual position regarding current practice for constructing transmission lines worldwide, including circumstances in which lines are constructed as underground cables. They will also assess the relative technical performance of overhead lines and underground cables. Technical considerations include losses, reliability, quality, security of supply and electromagnetic field generation. The study will compare relative capital costs, total life cycle costs, annualised operation and maintenance costs, and impact on unit electricity prices of both options. It will also examine the construction times and consequential impacts on security of supply of both options.

The consultants will also assess in detail the comparative environmental impacts of both options. They will examine possible impacts on land use, geology and soils, and water resources. In addition, they will assess visual impact, effects on ecology and nature conservation and on air quality. They have also been asked to consider impacts on traffic, noise levels, tourism and communities.

In tandem with the tender process, the Department placed advertisements in nine national newspapers requesting submissions from the public on the issue. Over 500 submissions were received by the closing date of 7 March. The consultants have been furnished with these submissions and will consider points raised in their analysis of the merits or otherwise of underground and overground options. The consultants will also be available to meet with the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, to discuss the details of the report, once published.

We expect that the report will be finalised by early June. The timeframe for completion is in line with the tender specification.