Seán Power (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)

I thank Members for the highly constructive debate on this Bill. In particular, I thank them for their expressions of support for the Bill and their appreciation of the significant benefits the interconnector may bring in respect of enhanced competitiveness, improved security of supply and increased penetration of renewable generation, an issue to which a number of Members referred. It is unusual to bring before the House a Bill for which there is such widespread support and this is greatly appreciated. I wish to assure Members that all possible steps are being taken to ensure the east-west connector is expedited and that the costs will be minimised. The issue of increasing energy costs is of key importance and the Government is committed to increasing competition in the electricity and gas markets as the best way to mitigate higher energy tariffs in the long term.

I wish to reaffirm the Government's commitment to retaining State ownership of strategic energy infrastructure, including the transmission and distribution networks and the east-west connector. Senator Brady has expressed some concern in this regard. We had a certain experience with Eircom, to which the Senator referred, but we have no intention of going down the same road this time.

Senators raised technical issues on putting transmission lines underground. The Minister dealt with this. We set up an independent body to carry out a study on this and its report will be published very soon. While the interconnector may not reduce the amount of carbon provided at EU level, it may assist us in lowering the cost associated with carbon. The Bill also provides that the costs may be recovered through transmission charges. Under the oversight of the Commission for Energy Regulation, EirGrid is working to ensure the burden for energy consumers is minimised.

The competitive process to select a developer for this project is not yet complete, so the details of the financial package for the project have not yet been finalised. I hope we can address this issue in greater detail at some stage in the near future.

I thank all Senators for their contributions. As in the Dáil, there is support on all sides for the Bill and Members seem happy to see the Bill go through the Houses as quickly as possible. I am sure they will be co-operative in facilitating that. I look forward to further discussion of the Bill on Committee, Report and Final Stages.