Adjournment Debate.

Hospital Services.

Deputy Pat Breen

I propose to share one minute of my time with my colleague from County Clare, Deputy Joe Carey. I am pleased to have the opportunity to raise this urgent issue. I was shocked to learn yesterday morning that the HSE had made a decision not to recommission the mammography unit at Ennis General Hospital following its closure last October. I am reliably informed that unit was fully installed and ready to be recommissioned. The problem with the service is simply that there was no consultant radiologist employed at the hospital who could and was willing to interpret and report on the mammograms.

Prior to the refurbishment, this work was carried out by the HSE in Limerick Regional Hospital, but the service was discontinued. Why was the HSE not up-front with the people of Clare before the election? Can the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, explain why this decision was made five weeks after the election? This is another example of the HSE policy of centralising health services with the approval of the Fianna Fáil-Progressive Democrats-Green Party Government.

In its press statement yesterday, the HSE said this decision would cause inconvenience for the women of Clare but that those in north Clare could avail of services in Galway rather than make the long journey to Limerick. Did the HSE give any consideration to the women of west Clare, who will have to travel up to 100 miles to avail of the new service? This morning I had a telephone call from a woman in Kilbaha in the west Clare peninsula who asked what she and others like her had done to deserve this. People elected this Government because its candidates told people before the election that there would be no downgrading of services at Ennis General Hospital. We have been conned.

I know of several women who have had to avail of a mammogram in the last year. A relative of mine who had a lump detected in her breast waited 12 months for an appointment after being sent for a mammogram by her GP. The stress that woman and her family had to endure for four weeks as they waited for the results was unbelievable. She is one of hundreds of women who must endure this agony each year.

Does the Minister of State realise that centralised health services lead to the creation of more queues, greater inconvenience and increased pain and stress for patients who must endure longer waiting lists? The lack of maternity and mammography services for women in Clare is a sign of what is to come from this new Fianna Fáil Government. It is an indication that other essential services at Ennis General Hospital must now be in doubt as we wait for another HSE review. These include the provision of a six-slice CAT scanner, although consultants say a 16-slice scanner is required, and, above all else, the future of 24-hour consultant-led accident and emergency services. There is no doubt that the Hanly proposals are alive and well and that the people of Clare are its first victims.

I ask the Minister of State not to turn his back on the people of Clare. I ask him to go back to the Minister, Deputy Harney, who holds the purse strings. She can reverse this decision of the HSE and restore the basic essential services to which we are entitled.

Deputy Joe Carey

I join my colleagues in raising this important matter for County Clare. The mammography service in Ennis General Hospital has been available to the women of the county since 1985. The money to put the service in place was raised by volunteers. I was appalled yesterday to learn that it was announced at a press conference that we are to lose this service. No consultation took place before this decision was made.

The mammography unit has provided service to the people of County Clare for the last 22 years. It is totally unacceptable that it is to be removed from Ennis General Hospital. I and other public representatives have been misled on this issue in recent months. We were told the service would be recommissioned once the unit was refurbished. That did not happen. As Deputy Pat Breen observed, this decision was made without any debate after the general election. It was not even raised at the western health forum.

This centralisation of services represents a black day for County Clare. I appeal to the Minister for Health and Children to reinstate the mammography unit at Ennis General Hospital as a matter of urgency.

Deputy Timmy Dooley

I welcome the opportunity to address this serious matter. It is unfortunate that my maiden speech in this House must relate to an issue of such negativity and devastating impact on the lives of the women of County Clare. I am deeply unhappy at the decision of the HSE to end the mammography service at Ennis General Hospital. We must have far more information from the HSE and I welcome any information the Department may be able to provide through the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher.

The genesis of this service was based on the efforts of a local group of women who raised funds to put the equipment in place. Without consultation, however, the HSE proposes to end the service. This shows a great lack of understanding of the voluntary sector and an arrogance on the part of the HSE that is not befitting a public agency charged with the responsibility of delivering a health service to the people of County Clare and the rest of the State.

I object in the strongest possible terms to the decision, without notice or consultation, to propose to end this service. There has been no consultation with the stakeholders. As public representatives, we have been provided with no information. We too had to depend on journalistic colleagues to provide us with the information they received in advance of yesterday's press conference. That is no way for a State agency to do business. It does not allow for the type of accountability we expect and shows a scant regard for those of us with an electoral mandate.

I am not a medical expert but I believe there is some merit in the idea of a centre of excellence. However, the HSE has not put forward a credible service plan to cater for the women of Clare in Limerick and Galway. A previous speaker made an exceptionally good point regarding the west Clare peninsula, which is 100 miles from the location identified for mammographies. As public representatives, we should have been provided with the information in advance and discussions should have been held on finding an open and transparent solution through the health forum which was to have been established for the people of the locality. This decision has caused concern for women because it gives rise to the belief that further delays will ensue in getting access to mammography services.

A women who has had a preliminary examination by a general practitioner only to be told she will have to wait a number of weeks before having a mammogram faces further anxiety and pressure. That is not acceptable and should not be allowed to continue. Given the proposal to further roll out BreastCheck services, I cannot understand why Ennis does not have the numbers to sustain a centre for excellence, particularly with the population expansion taking place throughout the county.

A recent case involving the misdiagnosis of a local women has created great anxiety among the people of County Clare. The woman underwent a mammogram in Limerick but was not informed that she had breast cancer. I understand the individual concerned has met the Minister for Health and Children but the result has been a lack of confidence in the services available in Limerick. The Health Service Executive has done nothing to provide reassurances that a centre of excellence will be established to avoid this kind of misdiagnosis, which further adds to the suffering of people who are already in very vulnerable situations.

I ask that the contributions made in this debate be raised with the Minister so that discussions can be arranged with the chief executive of the HSE at the earliest possible opportunity with a view to revoking the order to transfer services to Limerick until such time as credible services plans are in place that meet the needs of all the women of County Clare.

Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children (Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher)

I welcome the opportunity to address the issues raised by the Deputies from County Clare and to set out the current position regarding mammography services at Ennis General Hospital and breast cancer services nationally. The specific issue raised by the Deputies concerns the organisation and management of the health services and, as such, is a matter for the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004.

The HSE has informed the Department that following consultation with experts in the field of cancer care, it has decided to concentrate all mammography services for the mid-west at the regional specialist breast unit in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick for reasons of patient safety. The HSE in the mid-west has informed the Department that the decision to discontinue mammography in Ennis is driven by the need to provide the best possible clinical practice. Centres where fewer than 1,000 mammograms are done in a year do not provide the volume of work necessary for the maintenance of the required level of professional skills. County Clare patients requiring mammograms between now and September will continue to be referred to Galway, after which date they will be referred to the specialist breast unit at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital. A total of 402 County Clare patients have had mammograms in Galway since October 2006.

The benefits of this change are the people of County Clare can be assured the services provided to the women of the county are in line with international best practice and subject to all the checks and balances that ensure units fulfil their remit. The HSE appreciates the move will cause inconvenience to some County Clare women but has stressed this must be set against the improvements that will ensue, including greater peace of mind for women undergoing mammograms. I understand clinicians practising in Ennis Hospital have been fully involved in the review and have accepted the need for change.

The new dedicated regional specialist breast unit will be sited adjacent to the outpatient department at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick, and will provide dedicated facilities for the symptomatic, reconstruction, review and breast prosthesis and fitting clinics, as well as for nurse counselling sessions. Support services such as X-rays, pathology and physiotherapy will be accommodated in the main departments of the hospital. Work on the detailed design and planning application is well advanced and the project is expected to go to tender before the end of 2007 and be fully commissioned in 2008. The capital cost estimate is €2.6 million, including design fees, equipping and construction.

A national breast screening programme is the most efficient population approach to preventing and controlling breast cancer. BreastCheck, the national breast screening programme, is available free of charge to eligible women in 15 counties in the eastern, north-eastern, midlands and parts of the south-eastern and western regions. This Government is committed to ensuring the BreastCheck service is rolled out to the remaining regions in the country as quickly as possible, and screening commenced in the west last May. Additional revenue funding of €8 million has been allocated for this year to meet the additional costs involved for roll-out, and the full complement of 111 staff has been approved. BreastCheck appointed the clinical directors for the south and west last November and has recently appointed three consultant radiologists, two consultant surgeons and two consultant histopathologists, all with a special interest in breast disease. The recruitment of radiographers and other staff is under way.

The Minister has also made available an additional €26.7 million in capital funding for the construction of two new clinical units and the provision of five additional mobile units and state-of-the-art digital equipment. The static unit at University College Hospital, Galway, is on track for late autumn.

The majority of women with breast cancer are diagnosed and treated outside the BreastCheck programme. It is therefore necessary that we support the symptomatic breast disease services as well as the screening services to ensure comprehensive breast cancer services are available for all women.

Breast cancer is the individual site specific cancer which has received the most investment in recent years and more than €60 million has been made available for development of the symptomatic services since 2000. The Minister for Health and Children recently formally approved quality standards for symptomatic breast disease services, which were prepared by a multidisciplinary expert group and submitted to the Minister by the Health Information and Quality Authority. The implementation of the standards is an essential element of the quality agenda set out in the national cancer control strategy. The response to the standards must be to ensure that every woman in Ireland who develops breast cancer has an equal opportunity to be managed in a centre which is capable of delivering the best possible results. The Department has requested the HSE to prepare a plan to implement the standards for submission to the HIQA. The HSE has agreed that the plan will involve the evaluation of current provision of services and provision for the performance management of specialist centres. A two to three-year timeframe for implementation of the standards is envisaged by the HIQA.

Planned developments for Ennis General Hospital will cost in the region of €40 million and include the upgrading of wards, accident and emergency, radiology and outpatients departments, the intensive care unit and general infrastructural upgrades. I understand an application has been made for planning permission and these developments will be especially beneficial to people in County Clare and the surrounding areas.

Deputy Pat Breen

Not at the rate they are taking away our services.

Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher

Aligned with the roll-out of BreastCheck nationally and the further development of symptomatic breast disease services, the developments at Ennis General Hospital will ensure we continue to deliver quality assured multidisciplinary breast cancer care to women nationally, including women in the mid-western region. I will raise the issue with the Minister and the HSE and note what Deputies have said regarding the communication of this decision to national politicians through the media.

Regional Airports.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

I thank the Acting Chairman for allowing me to raise this vital report for the mid-west. I congratulate Deputy Gallagher on his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children. I am extremely disappointed the Minister for Transport and the Marine, Deputy Dempsey, is not here and hope it is not a sign that he will continue in the same vein as his predecessor, Deputy Cullen, in terms of his attitude to the mid-west. In particular, we have a €53 million mid-west tourism and economic development plan to deal with the impact of the open skies agreement for Shannon Airport and the region. When will the plan be implemented, how much will be spent and who will administer the fund?

I welcome the fact the programme for Government refers to a marketing plan being put in place. The reference is somewhat vague, but nonetheless I welcome it and trust that part of that marketing plan will be the full implementation of the €53 million tourism and economic development plan.

Open skies is effectively now in place for Shannon. A transitional period was supposed to operate from October 2006 to April 2008 but flights can be stacked and averaged over the period, three for one. This agreement was only negotiated and concluded by the former Minister, Deputy Cullen, on 3 March 2007 but the airlines have been allowed to go back to October 2006 to stack flights. We now have airlines effectively putting open skies fully in place for Shannon Airport, which will have grave implications. Three airlines are about to pull out from Shannon Airport. American Airlines, which flies year round to Chicago, will be gone from October 2007. Air Canada, which flies year round to Toronto, will cease operations on 10 August 2007. Delta, which flies to Atlanta in the winter months, will be gone from this winter. The implications of that are serious. There are, for example, six new hotels in Limerick, one of which is down 2,000 bed nights for 2008 because of uncertainty around future flights. Will the Minister of State confirm that CIE International Tours is redirecting all of its US business to Dublin because of that same uncertainty? That will have disastrous consequences for the region in 2008 and 2009.

One of the reasons the former Minister, Deputy Cullen, accepted the agreement was that an assurance was given by Aer Lingus, through its CEO Mr. Dermot Mannion, that 400,000 passengers would be retained, year round, at Shannon. Has the Minister received any written confirmation from Mr. Mannion to this effect? This is critical in terms of retaining year round flights for this region.

An IBEC report was published at the end of 2005 which showed that US multinational companies in the mid-west region are fearful about a reduction in transatlantic flights. A survey carried out among 123 companies, which between them employed 25,000 people and had an annual turnover of €6.12 billion, found that 70% believed the level of connectivity between Shannon Airport and the US was vital to their competitiveness. Furthermore, if there was a reduction of 100,000 tourists coming into the mid-west region and 200,000 transatlantic passengers, that would result in a 30% reduction in overseas revenue, amounting to €75 million. Over one fifth of the respondents said they would consider moving out of the region if US flights from Shannon were discontinued.

The Government has neglected the mid-west region to date. Successive Ministers have ignored it and again I express my disappointment at the absence of the new Minister for Transport and the Marine, Deputy Dempsey. I urge the Minister to implement this plan in full. I want to know when it will be implemented, how much will be spent and who will implement it.

Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher

I thank Deputy O'Donnell for raising this matter. I apologise for the Minister for Transport and the Marine, Deputy Dempsey, who is unavoidably absent, due to a prior commitment. His absence does not indicate his lack of interest in this issue.

It is important to trace the background to the proposal to establish an economic and tourism development plan for Shannon. Following decisions taken by the European Court of Justice in 2002 in the so-called open skies cases, the European Council of Ministers granted a mandate to the European Commission for the negotiation of an open skies agreement with the US. Against the background of the Government's commitment to the liberalisation of air transport services between Ireland and the US, Ireland supported that mandate.

A number of reports, such as the Brattle report for the European Commission, the report of the tourism policy review group and the air transport users council of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, all supported moving to open skies with the US, as soon as possible.

EU negotiations with the US about a wide-ranging aviation agreement began in October 2003 and continued in 2004 and 2005. In November 2005, the EU and US negotiators reached agreement on the text of a comprehensive first-step air transport agreement. A transitional arrangement for Ireland, relating to the phasing out of the Shannon stopover, was included in the November 2005 text but remained in abeyance, pending finalisation of the negotiations.

Following certain difficulties on the US side last year, which meant the agreement could not be concluded, negotiations at EU-US level resumed in January 2007. Over the course of a further two negotiating rounds in February and March a series of modifications to the text were agreed by the negotiators. The final agreement was endorsed by the Transport Council on 22 March 2007 and signed by the US and the European Commission at the EU-US summit on 30 April 2007. The agreement as a whole is to enter into force on a provisional basis from 30 March 2008.

The original transitional measures agreed in November 2005 relating to the granting of additional traffic rights to three US destinations, as well as measures to phase out the Shannon stopover, entered into effect immediately following approval of the draft agreement by the Council of Ministers in March 2007. This means the Shannon stop requirement will not be fully terminated until March 2008. Aer Lingus has already announced it will commence new services to three new US destinations in the autumn namely to San Francisco, Orlando and Washington Dulles.

With a view to assisting Shannon Airport and the wider Shannon region to adapt to the new arrangements under the open skies regime, the former Minister for Transport gave an undertaking to prepare an economic and tourism development plan for the region to ensure Shannon Airport sustains and grows transatlantic air services.

Also in the context of the 2005 draft open skies agreement, the then Minister for Transport sought and obtained assurances from Aer Lingus that the airline will maintain the current level of transatlantic traffic of approximately 400,000 seats a year with regular year round scheduled services between Shannon and Boston and New York.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

Did he get those assurances in writing?

Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher

The future development and growth of all international and regional airports in the State will depend largely on how each airport responds to the new challenges and the extent to which emerging opportunities, such as open skies, can be exploited. In this context it is clear that if Shannon Airport is to develop as a successful and sustainable business, one of the issues that must be addressed is the airport's uncompetitive cost base. On 5 April last, the airport workforce voted to accept a restructuring programme which has been drawn up to achieve €10 million cost savings annually for the airport. Management is now implementing the programme. Critical to its success is the realisation of some 200 voluntary redundancies from the company. If the necessary cost savings are achieved then the airport will have a solid basis for business planning and responding effectively to the opportunities and challenges of open skies.

The economic and tourism development plan for the Shannon catchment area is close to finalisation and is due to be considered by Government in the coming weeks. In drawing up the plan, the Minister for Transport and the Marine consulted with his colleagues, the Ministers for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Finance, and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. The Minister also welcomes the input to this process of the liaison group established by the Mid-West Regional Authority. The group comprising the Mid-West Regional Authority, Clare County Council, Shannon Development, the Shannon Airport Authority, SIGNAL and IBEC, brings together key stakeholders with a shared commitment to the development of the Shannon region.

The report puts forward a series of wide ranging and ambitious proposals to this end. The recommendations span infrastructure development, tourism product development, tourism promotion and institutional reform. Not surprisingly, there is considerable overlap between the proposals and existing initiatives that are under way or planned.

I want to assure Deputy O'Donnell that the report and its recommendations have been examined by the relevant Departments in the preparation of the proposed tourism and economic development plan for the Shannon catchment area. As I have said, the plan is now being finalised. It will be considered by the Government in the coming weeks and, subject to Government approval, will be published as soon as possible thereafter. It would, therefore, not be appropriate for me to comment in any more detail before the Government has considered the matter.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

May I interject with one quick question?

Acting Chairman (Deputy Johnny Brady)

No, I cannot allow that. The Deputy had time to contribute.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

It will be too late.

Power Stations.

Deputy Olwyn Enright

Deputy O'Donnell's response indicates the unsatisfactory nature of the Adjournment debate. However, I welcome the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and wish him well in his new position. He will be hearing plenty from me on this and other issues concerning my constituency. The future of the ESB power station in Shannonbridge, West Offaly Power, is crucial to the development of County Offaly and the midlands region as a whole. I hope the Minister is aware that there has been a long history of semi-State employment in County Offaly, both through the ESB and Bord na Móna, although the numbers employed in both companies have been reduced significantly in the past decade.

Shannonbridge power station was well served by its staff during its period of operation. It closed to make way for West Offaly Power, with major job losses, which caused difficulties in the county. Although I was not involved in politics at the time, I know that closure was difficult to accept, but it was accepted by local people. West Offaly Power is now in place with a sister station in Lanesboro. West Offaly Power employs in the region of 47 people. The Minister will be aware that his own party objected to the construction of the plant in the first place, but I am sure that will not be an issue for him now. Both power stations have been opened for less than three years, and both are off-line for the second time in that period. The Minister will be aware that they were built at a cost to the taxpayer of almost €500 million. I fully support them and I lobbied for the Shannonbridge station to be built. I lobbied for a station that would work, however, and that would do the job it was designed to accomplish.

In 2006, the problem was in the boiler area. This time, the problem is in the 25 tonne destock cylinder area. I am not here to make cynical points and I do accept that extracting energy from peat is a complicated process. Such extraction processes have been under way since the mid-1940s, although I accept that the process has changed in the new stations. Their aim was to reduce emissions and they were achieving that. It is unacceptable, however, that both stations have closed again for the second time in three years.

Safety for the staff, both in Shannonbridge and Lanesboro, must come first. That is the paramount objective. The health and safety concerns that have resulted in the stations' closure are understandable and I acknowledge that they must be off-line at present. I have several questions for the new Minister and I hope he will set a precedent of answering questions of concern to Members, rather than just giving us a prepared speech.

Deputy Kieran O’Donnell

Hear, hear.

Deputy Olwyn Enright

What investigations have the Minister and his Department carried out into the situation both at Shannonbridge and Lanesboro? What is the timeline for getting West Offaly Power back into action and when can we expect the plant to be in action again? Has the Minister had discussions with management both in the ESB and Bord na Móna about the possible effects on employment in West Offaly Power and the Bord na Móna stations supplying it with peat? It is important to consider the potential knock-on effect for permanent and seasonal jobs in Bord na Móna as well as the jobs at West Offaly Power. I appreciate that there are commercial sensitivities involved, but my primary concern is for the job security of my hard-working constituents who have been loyal to the ESB and Bord na Móna in the past.

I am sure the Minister does not want to start his new term in office involved in arbitration between two companies under his control. He should address the issues I have raised. I would like him to confirm the expected date for the resumption of West Offaly Power. Will he also confirm that there will be no knock-on effects, either for the staff at West Offaly Power or the larger number of permanent and seasonal staff working for Bord na Móna? Their jobs are dependent on the last two remaining power stations under the control of the ESB. Edenderry Power also uses peat fuel.

I look forward to the Minister's response, although I do not need him to get into the technical details, which has been well explained to me already. I want him to answer the key issues as to who is responsible for the problems we are experiencing and when the plants will reopen. Will the Minister guarantee that there will be no job losses as a result of the current situation?

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Eamon Ryan)

I hope my reply will answer some of the questions raised by Deputy Enright. This is an issue of importance, not just locally but nationally also. We are close all the time to not having enough power, so as well as the jobs issue, there is the question of security of supply from electricity generation. It is a crucial matter.

The operation and maintenance of the ESB's power stations is a matter for the company and not one in which I have a direct function. However, following notification from the ESB earlier this month that its West Offaly and Lough Ree peat power plants at Shannonbridge and Lanesboro were experiencing outages on safety grounds, my predecessor, Deputy Noel Dempsey, requested that the Department's chief energy technical adviser undertake an assessment of the situation. I have received this report which was carried out with the full co-operation of the ESB.

Given the legal contractual position between the ESB and the main contractor, the report is purely factual and does not make any determination as to the reasons for the plant problems. I have asked the chief energy technical adviser to continue to liaise with the ESB on developments.

I am advised by the ESB that unexpectedly high levels of corrosion have been found in the 150 MW peat-burning West Offaly Power station at Shannonbridge, County Offaly, and its 100 MW sister plant, Lough Ree Power at Lanesboro.

The ESB went to open competitive tender to build these plants to a high specification that met the most up-to-date environmental requirements. The international engineering company, Foster Wheeler, won the competitive bidding process. Similar technology was offered by other tenders and the ESB's assessments included visits to peat-burning reference plants in Finland, which were operating satisfactorily.

Foster Wheeler built and commissioned Lough Ree Power and West Offaly Power, and the plants were operational from December 2004 and June 2005, respectively. The burning of peat allowed greater diversity of fuels to be used in electricity generation as oil and gas prices reached record levels. It also ensured greater security of supply. In order to achieve lower emissions, an internationally proven technology, a circulating fluidised bed boiler, was employed in the two peat stations. Simply put, this process facilitated burning the peat fuel at lower temperatures.

With both plants still under warranty, in late 2005 the ESB discovered the development of corrosion in the high temperature section of the boiler in West Offaly Power. This was confirmed in early 2006. A similar corrosion was discovered in Lough Ree Power in spring 2006. These developments required outages to allow remedial repair work to take place and both plants returned to service.

The ESB also commenced a programme of work with Foster Wheeler to determine the root cause of the corrosion and to identify a long-term technical solution. This work is ongoing.

During a scheduled outage at Lough Ree Power in May 2007, extensive corrosion was found in the flue gas cleaning equipment of the plant. Arising from this discovery, an assessment was carried out in West Offaly Power and similar levels of corrosion were discovered in that plant.

On the basis of these findings, on 1 June 2007, the ESB was advised by Foster Wheeler to take West Offaly Power out of service at once for safety reasons. I understand the ESB and Foster Wheeler are working together to resolve the technical problem. Experts have been engaged to study the processes at both plants with a view to finding a long-term solution. The ESB is also working with my Department in investigating these issues.

The company assures me it wishes to ensure these temporary outages last no longer than absolutely necessary but the safety imperative makes it impossible to avoid loss of production while it seeks to solve the problem. I am also kept informed of any resultant implications for security of supply in regard to electricity. In accordance with their statutory responsibilities, the power generation situation is continually monitored by the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, and the independent transmission system operator, EirGrid, and is carefully managed from EirGrid's national control centre.

I am advised by CER and EirGrid that in addition to the outages at Lough Ree Power and West Offaly Power, and as a normal part of the management regime, the summer maintenance season is currently under way with a number of generators taking outages for maintenance work. While I understand these outages can lead to concern at times for the adequacy of the generation margin, I am assured the situation is under control and being carefully managed by EirGrid to ensure that capacity meets demand at all times.

The most recent advice available to me from the CER and EirGrid is that there is sufficient generating capacity, both installed and planned, on the system to meet the predicted demand for the period ahead. Notwithstanding this assessment, the expected balance between demand and supply is being kept under consistent collective review by my Department in consultation with the CER and EirGrid.

Should there be any indication that the situation regarding generation adequacy may change, the CER is charged with the responsibility of taking action to ensure supplies of electricity are protected. I am also aware the outages at West Offaly and Lough Ree have implications for Bord na Móna, which has a commercial agreement with ESB to supply fuel to the West Offaly Power plant. Under the agreement, the company normally supplies 25,000 tonnes of milled peat per week to West Offaly Power. The closure of the power station has meant a loss of revenue to Bord na Móna of approximately €700,000 per week.

Dáil Éireann debate - Wednesday, 4 Jul 2007