Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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224. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment if he will give further consideration to the renewed call of a local authority in relation to the proposed north south interconnector (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46401/21]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The North-South interconnector is critical to improving the efficient operation of the all-island single electricity market and increasing security of electricity supply in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It will also help Ireland to move towards our 70% renewable electricity target by 2030. A resilient and well-connected energy infrastructure is vital for Ireland's economic well-being and the ability to respond to the future needs of energy consumers. The option of undergrounding the North-South interconnector has been comprehensively assessed on several occasions. Most recently, the key finding from the International Expert Commission's report of October 2018 was that an overhead line remains the most appropriate option for this critical electricity infrastructure.

Notwithstanding this, I decided to commission a further short review to assess if the overall finding from the 2018 report remains valid. Terms of reference for this study were published on my Department's website on 21 April. On 7 May, my Department initiated a procurement process to appoint an independent expert to undertake the review. International consultants have now been appointed subject to final contract compliance requirements being fulfilled. I expect that the review will be completed later this year.