Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Question 135: To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the plans for an interconnector to France; if this would have implications for policy in relation to nuclear power; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43650/08]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)
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Under the Energy Policy Framework and the Programme for Government, we are committed to the progressive development of a regional electricity market with the UK and North West Europe underpinned by new interconnection. The current focus is on the East West Electricity Interconnector, which is of vital strategic importance to Ireland and its delivery to schedule by 2012 is a key Government priority.

EirGrid, the independent transmission system operator, has recently published its Grid25 study, which provides a strategy for the development of Ireland's electricity grid for a sustainable and competitive future. This study states that it is likely, that by 2025 at least, one further interconnector from this system to another offshore system, either Britain or France, will be in place.

The Government maintains, as have successive Governments over many years, that nuclear power is neither sustainable nor the answer to meeting Ireland's energy needs. The use of nuclear fission for the generation of electricity in Ireland is statutorily prohibited under Section 18(6) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. Furthermore, Section 3 of the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 states that "Nothing in this Act shall be construed as enabling the authorisation of development consisting of an installation for the generation of electricity by nuclear fission".

These prohibitions do not include the importation of electricity generated by nuclear energy. Legal advice received by my Department states that such a prohibition would be in breach of Article 28 of the EC Treaty, which prohibits quantitative restrictions on imports and all measures having equivalent effect between Member States.

I am therefore advised that a prohibition on the importation of electricity generated with the use of nuclear energy would be highly unlikely to have a legal justification even if it were technically feasible.

I am further advised that it is not technically possible to guarantee that electricity imported over an interconnector is not generated from nuclear sources as it is not physically possible to prevent the flow of nuclear generated electricity onto the network. Nor is it possible to distinguish the flow of electricity across interconnectors by reference to the original source of supply or generation.