Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 10 Mar 1993

Vol. 427 No. 7

Adjournment Debate. - Transport, Energy and Communications Matter.

Mr. McGinley

I wish to thank the Chair for affording me the opportunity of raising this matter on the Adjournment. I thank the Minister of State for attending. There is widespread concern and anxiety throughout the parish of Gweedore as to the future of the turf generating station. This station has been operational since 1958 and during that time has provided a livelihood and an income for 200 to 300 families in this impoverished Gaeltacht region.

At present there are 30 employees in the station and almost 200 families provide the turf that is harvested locally, generating an income of almost £1 million annually in an area with the highest unemployment figures in the country.

Last year, the board of the ESB recommended the closure of the station. Emergency meetings of workers and suppliers were arranged which resulted in a five to seven year development plan being submitted to the then Minister, Deputy Molloy, and at the end of that time the future and viability of the station could again be reviewed.

Since then the only response to the development plan has been a brief press release stating that the station may be given another year or two. The Minister should clarify the following points tonight: what are the exact plans for the future of the station; is the development plan and its timescale being accepted by the Government and the ESB and is the station being wound down at present and closing completely at the end of 1994? Immediate clarification is urgently needed tonight to restore the confidence of both the employees and turf suppliers.

The closure of that facility in Gweedore would be a devastating blow to the economic fabric of west Donegal, a region already hard hit by unemployment and emigration.

The Minister should guarantee undertakings already given by his predecessors that the station will be left open so long as the people of west Donegal continue to produce the necessary quota of turf towards its efficient operation.

Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications (Mr. N. Treacy)

The position in relation to the Gweedore power station is that the ESB has been requested to continue to operate the station until the situation is finally reviewed in 1995. The age of the station and the costs associated with generating electricity at Gweedore mean, however, that in the light of energy efficiency no guarantees on the future of the station can be given beyond 1995.

A key consideration for the future of the station is the quality of turf available. Supplies have declined in recent years and while there are indications that some additional supplies may be available within the existing supply area, the scope for increasing supplies without further investment in bog development and machinery is very limited. As the plant is 35 years old its continued operation has to be conditional on the technical condition of the plant. That creates considerable uncertainty about the future.

It would be unfair and uneconomic to require the ESB to invest in maintaining the station if turf supplies could not be increased and relied upon and it would be equally wrong to encourage investment in turf cutting if the operation of the station could not be guaranteed for a reasonable length of time so that the turf supplies could be consumed for generation. As of now it is difficult to recognise a workable basis for the continued operation of the station past 1995, but the position will be kept under constant review both in the Department and by the ESB. I am assured by the ESB that any decision made in the future by the board in relation to the Gweedore power station will not result in any compulsory redundancies among its staff.

I refer the House to the statement issued by my Government colleague, Minister Gallagher, on 9 December last when, after consultation with the Taoiseach, who was then Acting Minister for Energy, the Minister of State confirmed that the Gweedore station would continue to operate until 1995, when the position would be reviewed.

Since my appointment I have had representations and consultations with Minister Gallagher and Deputy Mary Coughlan regarding the position at the Gweedore power station. I can again confirm to the House that the position prevailing at the time of the Government announcement in December last still obtains. I trust that this confirmation is to the satisfaction of the representatives of the people of sweet Donegal.

The Dáil adjourned at 9.25 p.m. until 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, 11 March 1993.