Vol. 497 No. 2
95 Mr. McGrath asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if an applicaiton to provide a 60 MW peat fired power station at Coolnagun, County Westmeath, has been made to her by Bord na Móna; if, so, if she has considered this proposal; if she will seek funding for this project from the EU; the time frame to bring this project into production; the number of jobs involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24669/98]
I have had overtures from Bord na Móna and from a third party about the possibility of providing a further new peat plant which would utilise the Bord na Móna fuel peat resources at Coolnagun and Ballivor.
A new 120MW peat fired generating plant, which is to be constructed in the East Midlands, is due to come on stream by the middle of 2001.
The electricity sector in Ireland is due to be liberalised from February 2000 under the terms of the EU Electricity Directive. That Directive allows a member state to make provision for the use of indigenous resources to meet up to 15 per cent of its annual electricity requirements.
I am in the process of defining detailed legislative provisions to implement the EU Electricity Directive in Ireland. As part of this process, I will be introducing legislation in the House in the near future to provide for the setting up of a Commission for Electricity Regulation.
