asked the Minister for Transport and Power the present position concerning the provision of a power station at Ballyforan, Ballinasloe, County Galway.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - County Galway Power Station.
14.
Mr. Kitt
(Cavan): Bord na Móna and the ESB have recently submitted to me the results of their joint study to determine how the additional peat that will be available from implementation of the third bog development programme might best be utilised.
The recommendations of the two boards are at present under examination in my Department, but for the present at any rate the erection of a new peat-fired power station in the Ballyforan vicinity is not envisaged.
Mr. Kitt
Can the Minister tell the House what the recommendations of the ESB and Bord na Móna were?
(Cavan): No. They are under investigation at the moment and I do not have them here. I understand that about two million tons of peat will be available and about 1.79 million tons will be used for the generation of electricity. About 600,000 tons of peat will come from the Ballyforan group of bogs. Half a million tons is likely to be used in the existing peat-fired stations at Rhode and Ferbane in Offaly. One new 40 megawatt extension to each of the existing peat-fired stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesboro are to be constructed. In addition it is likely that a 40 megawatt unit will be constructed at Shannonbridge.
Mr. Kitt
Is the Minister saying that the provision of the power station is not a matter for the ESB or Bord na Móna but a matter for the Government?
(Cavan): It is a matter for the Government on the advice of the ESB. It is the business of the Government to utilise the peat to the best advantage possible so that the ESB may be able to generate electricity as cheaply as possible and supply their customers at a reasonable price.
Mr. Kitt
Is the Minister aware that Bord na Móna are already working in the area, that there has been a site in Ballyforan for the last ten years for a power station and that there is severe unemployment in the area? The Minister must have received representations to have a power station sited in Ballyforan.
(Cavan): If, as the Deputy says, there has been a site there for the last ten years, my predecessors must have taken a decision not to proceed with it. I am prepared to accept the advice of my technical advisers and be guided by them.
Is the question of a power station in the area being considered in relation to the extending of the other power stations? The Minister mentioned the extension of two or four power stations.
(Cavan): The erection of a new generating station was considered in the light of the available peat and the advice is that it would not be an economic proposition to erect a new station and that it would be wasteful.
Did the Minister mention two or four extensions?
(Cavan): Four. There is an extension to each of the existing peat-fired stations at Shannonbridge and Lanesboro, and a further addition to Shannonbridge.
Can I take it from the Minister's answer to Deputy Dr. Gibbons that the question of a new station in Ballyforan has been shelved?
(Cavan): Yes.
Can I also take it that the amount of employment coming to that area will be very small? We were definitely promised that a new generating station would be set up in Ballyforan. From the answers that Deputy Kitt and Deputy Gibbons got just now can I take it that this will not happen and that whatever extra employment there will be will be in Shannonbridge and Lanesboro?
(Cavan): An extra £5.4 million has been allocated to the third programme this year and that will generate employment in Ballyforan as well as other places. There is no question of this project having been shelved by this Government or by me. As Deputy Kitt says, consideration was given to this ten years ago and nothing was proceeded with. The Opposition should be consistent. They will be in here with motions in Private Members' Time condemning and complaining about the cost of electricity and at the same time they want to embark on a means of generating electricity which is not economic.
We have dwelt overlong on this question. Order. One final question please, Deputy Wilson.
Would the Minister agree that ten years ago the cost of production of a unit of electricity from peat was much higher than the cost from oil and that the situation has changed considerably in the meantime?
(Cavan): Of course it has, and that is why the third programme was initiated and why all the extra money is being spent——
That makes nonsense of what the Minister said a moment ago.
(Cavan): The Deputy asked a question and he might wait for the answer. That is why all the money was spent on the third programme to produce peat. It is the duty of Bord na Móna, the ESB and the Government to put that peat to the best use in the national interest.
The next question, please.