Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2020
63. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Climate Action and Communication Networks the estimated cost of undergrounding the North-South interconnector compared to the current plan; the date on which the cost comparisons were calculated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25604/20]
View answerThis is an issue that I have already raised but will continue to raise with the Minister as this Government looks set to repeat the mistakes of the past. The need to connect our two grids on the island is vital, even for the solar improvements we spoke of earlier. The current plan however for the North-South interconnector is putting this crucial piece of infrastructure in jeopardy. What are the up-to-date differences in cost of overgrounding versus undergrounding?
The North-South interconnector is critical to improving the efficient operation of the single electricity market and increasing security of electricity supply across the island of Ireland. It will also help us to move towards 70% renewable electricity, a commitment made in the Programme for Government - Our Shared Future. A resilient and well-connected energy infrastructure is vital for Ireland’s economic well-being and the ability to respond to the future needs of energy consumers.
The option of undergrounding the line has been assessed on several occasions over the years. Most recently, my Department published an independent study in October 2018 on undergrounding the interconnector which found that an overhead line remained the most appropriate option for the proposed interconnector. The estimated cost, to answer the Deputy's question directly, of undergrounding the line was €680 million versus an estimated cost of €230 million for the overhead option. This study, available on my Department's website, was the latest in a series of studies that reached the same conclusion.
The decision last week by the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland to grant full planning permission to the project means that the project has now been fully consented both North and South. I expect EirGrid and ESB Networks to engage openly and extensively with those living closest to the route of the interconnector. In that regard I note that EirGrid has already set in place a variety of engagements locally, including the appointment of community liaison officers and a mobile information unit active in the area. I expect such engagements to intensify in the coming weeks and months, subject of course to national public health guidelines on Covid-19.
I believe that this important new cross-Border infrastructure will significantly facilitate the integration of renewable energy into the power system, will bring economic benefits to the region and can address our climate objectives on an all-island basis.
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. The Minister raised the report of 2018. He must know that the community has no confidence in this report. It never did and I understand why. It is not the case that the community saw the report, did not like it, and walked away from it. They said from the very outset that they did not have confidence in the inquiry team, in the terms of reference, or in the methodology that was applied. Essentially it was designed, in their opinion, to give an outcome which it duly did. That is fundamentally what is at play and is at the very crux here. There is no confidence in the process thus far. There are legitimate, strongly-held opinions that are grounded in evidence. Will the Minister ensure that there is an independent assessment of the undergrounding option? It never happened in a clear and transparent way.
This is a real issue of concern for the Deputy’s constituents and for many of the people in this House and the people they represent. It is an issue that goes back a long time. I first engaged on this issue in 2003 or 2004 when, in the Oireachtas committee of which I was then a member - Deputy Durkan will remember that period - the vital strategic nature of this project and the optimal nature of the infrastructure that was recommended at that time was made very clear to us. That was 16 or 17 years ago. In that interim period we have seen a variety of different studies, as this has been an issue of real seriousness and concern and one that many Deputies have raised. In 2008, in my time as Minister, we commissioned a Dutch energy consultancy, Ecofys, to produce a study of the comparative merits of overhead electricity transmission versus underground cables. In 2009, EirGrid published a report by industry experts, PB Power, on the same subject. I could go on; there have been many independent and other studies. Will I be able to come back in to make a further intervention, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle?
The Minister will have one more minute.
The solution here, and I want to contribute to finding a solution, is to co-design an independent review of the undergrounding option involving all of the stakeholders, with the identification of a suitable panel of inquiry and independent consultants, where the terms of reference and the methodology to be employed will be co-designed with the stakeholders. We have never had that. In fairness to the community group they engaged with the 2011 report, but subsequent to that in their opinion, which I share, there have been desktop exercises and far more comprehensive reviews of other projects that have ended up in a very different place to the North-South interconnector. We are going to stay at an impasse unless we adopt the approach I am recommending here.
This is a technically complex issue when one looks into it but I would have to say that the Deputy’s colleagues in the Administration in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Féin is in power, have agreed with the assessment that I have come to, which is that this infrastructure is absolutely vital. We are all agreed on that. We need an all-island market and, with the granting of the planning commission up North, they clearly see that this is the approach that should be taken. Rather than looking at the political aspect of it, of all of the series of reports that have been done over the years, the one report done on a statutory basis which is independent and has to look at all of the evidence and to take into account all of the international studies that have been done on this - I only started to list out all of the series of independent studies which have been conducted on this - is done by the person with responsibility for assessing this evidence, the An Bord Pleanála inspector. The inspector's report came to the opinion that this is a critical element of the transmission system between Ireland and Northern Ireland and it has been demonstrated that an overhead line represents less risk as to security, reliability and availability than the DC option. There is an issue as to the security of the energy systems on the island, North and South. This is not an easy issue and EirGrid will have to be very careful on how the work with communities on both sides of the Border on this project is done. I believe having planning permission in the North and the South is such that-----
I thank the Minister but I have to stop him as we are way over our time.
I will conclude on that.
I do not mean to be rude to the Minister but we will not get to the other questions otherwise.
By all means, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.
