asked the Minister for Industry and Commerce if he will state whether the Electricity Supply Board propose to use only machine-won turf for the generation of electricity at the Allenwood power station, or whether they will purchase hand-won turf from local producers for use in the power station.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Allenwood Power Station.
I am informed that supplies of machine-won turf produced by Bord na Móna are expected to be sufficient for the operation of Allenwood power station, in the present year.
For the purpose of assisting local people to know how they stand in the matter of hand-produced turf, will the Minister say whether it is comtemplated that the station will rely exclusively on machine-won turf or whether there will be any market at the station for locally produced hand-won turf?
Apart from the reply I have given to the Deputy, I can only say that I have asked the Electricity Supply Board and Bord na Móna to prepare the most reliable estimates possible at the present time as to the position this year. I have not got these estimates yet.
Will the Minister kindly inform me at a later date if there is any likelihood that there will be a market at the station for local hand-won turf? It would affect the economy of the people in the area if they knew that.
The Deputy will also understand the difficulty of preparing estimates of that kind at this time.
The Minister will let me know?
Yes, when I get the estimates.