Commencement Matters

Disability Services Funding

Senator Marie Moloney

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to take this matter which concerns a scheme to support national organisations. The scheme provided multi-annual funding for such national organisations toward core costs associated with the provision of services. Priority is given under the scheme to supporting national organisations which provide services that target disadvantaged groups.

As the Minister of State will be aware, in the summer of 2014, 23 health and disability organisations were excluded from the scheme. The Minister will also be aware that bridging funding was provided for 12 months by the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, to help these organisations, but, unfortunately, this funding will end in June. The organisations are now in limbo as they cannot receive confirmation from the Minister's Department as to whether there will be a continuation of funding after June. In January they were told by officials of the Department that they would know by the end of March, but that information has not been forthcoming.

One may wonder why the provision of funding for a health and disability organisation comes under the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, but not everything is about a health issue. Many people, having been diagnosed with a disability, are well able to contribute to and participate in community organisations. The funding is used to support people to live as full a life as possible and continue their involvement in the community. It also supports the families of those diagnosed with a disability. It is vital for the continuation of support groups. Last year the Minister provided €1.28 million to avoid an adverse impact on the organisations involved. The work that they carry out is invaluable. Organisations such as the Disability Federation of Ireland and the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, to name but two, are the umbrella support bodies for many groups such as those which support people with multiple sclerosis, stroke victims and people suffering from dementia.

As laid down in the criteria, the scheme to support national organisations, SSNO, is a key element of the State's commitment to support the role of the sector in delivering services to enhance the quality of life of many in Ireland and contribute to the creation of a vibrant civil society. Similar to A Vision for Change in the mental health sector, these organisations are endeavouring to help people with a disability to move from residential care to community settings where they can integrate with the community and achieve independence. Neurological organisations which account for 12 of the 23 organisations affected are providing critical front-line services and support for over 700,000 people affected by neurological conditions such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and acquired brain injury.

Being excluded from SSNO funding means a loss of income of €600,000 which will result in a loss of critical services such as counselling, helpline and home support, vital services that empower people to live in their homes and communities. The withdrawal of SSNO funding will result in potential job losses of one full-time and 11 part-time staff, while two organisations may close. I ask the Minister of State to clarify the position on funding for these organisations and confirm the continuation of funding.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Ann Phelan)

I am pleased to have an opportunity to address the Seanad on the funding scheme to support national organisations in the community and voluntary sector and thank the Senator for raising this important issue.

The scheme aims to provide multi-annual funding for national organisations towards core costs associated with the provision of services. During 2013 a review of the scheme was undertaken. It found that while the scheme had fulfilled its main objective of providing multi-annual funding for national organisations towards core costs associated with the provision of services, there was a need for the organisations funded under the scheme to demonstrate clearly the added value of the work proposed.

A new scheme to support national organisations was advertised for applications early last year. The Department requested Pobal to undertake an assessment of the applications received, given that organisation's significant experience and expertise in both the design of assessment criteria and the completion of assessment functions. In this context, Pobal put in place a dedicated team to deal with inquiries from applicants and to provide detailed feedback. Furthermore, an appeals process was put in place, on foot of which Pobal submitted a report, which it is considering. Some 157 applications were received by Pobal. A total of 55 applications were approved for funding in the two-year period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2016. In excess of €8 million is being provided by the Department in the two-year period, representing an increase in funding of more than 10% per annum compared to the previous scheme.

The Government is very mindful of the valuable work undertaken by national organisations in the community and voluntary sector. While it was known that the existing scheme was ending on 30 June 2014 and applications were sought for the new scheme with no guarantee of continued funding, it was clear that organisations had become increasingly dependent on this funding. Against that background, my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, announced on 18 July 2014 the allocation of bridging funding of €1.4 million to a number of previously funded health, disability and other organisations for a 12-month period, pending the carrying out of a review of the public funding of national organisations in the health and disability sector. The Department is engaging with the Department of Health to advance the review. The review has been designed to ensure efficiency in the use of public money and the avoidance of duplication, while providing appropriate support for organisations working in the sector. I confirm that all organisations in receipt of bridging funding and a number of others were invited to make submissions as part of the review process. It is intended to complete and publish the outcome of the review as soon as possible.

Senator Marie Moloney

I thank the Minister of State for her response, but to be honest, it tells me absolutely nothing I did not already know. She repeated what I had told her. I want an answer to the question as to whether funding will be continued for these organisations. She referred to an appeals process. The organisations submitted appeals almost 12 months ago, but no decision has been arrived at. Surely it is time the Department pulled out its finger and made a decision on the appeals to let the people concerned know what the position is, as they are caught in limbo where jobs are at risk, yet nobody is giving them an answer. All I hear from the Minister of State is that they were invited to make submissions as part of the review process and that it is intended to publish the outcome of the review as soon as possible, but where does this leave the organisations in question? They do not know whether they will receive funding or whether they will have to close their doors. Somebody needs to provide an answer to their questions quickly.

Deputy Ann Phelan

I draw the Senator's attention to the fact that 55 applications were approved for funding in the two-year period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2016. The level of funding was increased to over €8 million, an increase of 10% in comparison with the allocation for the previous scheme. I undertake to bring the Senator's concerns back to the Department and discuss them with my officials. We will try to provide her with a more detailed response.

Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme Funding

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

I welcome the Minister of State. I wish to outline for her the reason Galway County Council's municipal district of Connemara should be designated as a separate stand-alone lot under the social inclusion programme, SICAP, and to suggest social inclusion funding should be awarded accordingly. The decision taken by the Department, overseen by Galway County Council, has caused uproar in Galway. On 12 March I attended a meeting of 650 people at Maam Cross in Connemara. The decision made at the meeting was to make Galway, including Connemara, one lot for the receipt of funding under the SICAP. Previously it had been divided into two lots. East Galway had come under Galway Rural Development, GRD, and west Galway under Forum Connemara.

Galway is the second largest county in the country and east and west Galway are radically different, as I know being a public representative for the county. West Galway, west of Lough Corrib, includes Connemara, while, for the most part, east Galway is a different constituency. I live in east Galway, in the Oranmore electoral division. I am very happy with the services provided by Galway Rural Development which has won this funding, but that does not mean Connemara should not be a stand-alone lot. It is a vast area which contains more than one third of the population of the county. Its terrain and everything else are different.

I support Forum Connemara and wish to explain why Connemara should be designated as a stand-alone lot. The proper way to deal with this issue is to divide Galway into two lots, one encompassing the area west of Lough Corrib, Connemara, and the other the east, the GRD area. Unfortunately, this did not happen and for that reason, I call on the Minister to make it happen. I spoke about the meeting I had attended, attended by 650 people, and their disillusionment with the decision which had been made.

I have grave concerns about how the local community development committee, LCDC, put the new arrangement in place, through the acting county CEO. It seems to be undemocratic and divisive. There are serious concerns about the way in which the vote on the designation of the SICAP took place, when only five of the 19 people were eligible to vote. Everyone else had a conflict of interest or was absent. This has serious implications for the committee as regards future decisions, not least on the distribution of these funds.

On the night of the meeting, with others, I called for a public inquiry into this decision. I understand a judicial review is under way, although I cannot confirm any more this. If Forum Connemara is dismantled in this fashion, will it not also affect the committee's membership and eligibility?

Let me outline some of the benefits to be gained from reviewing the decision. The provision for one lot only in terms of SICAP funding for Galway means social exclusion, not social inclusion, the opposite of what we want to happen. The general view at the meeting was that Forum Connemara was of vital importance to the community in Connemara. There is hardly a person in Connemara who has not had some contact with its services. People told their stories about the value of Forum Connemara to every demographic grouping in Connemara.

Young people, sports people and older people spoke. For example, the only working acupuncturist in Connemara started her practice in 2010. She provides a health service for 420 people who are rurally isolated in the area. These are people whom the mainstream health service had been unable to help and for whom travelling to Galway, a distance of possibly 50 or 60 miles, for this service was difficult and expensive. Had it not been for the services of FORUM in Letterfrack, she says she would not be in the position she is in today. She says she received guidance and support in starting a new business from FORUM when Enterprise Ireland in Galway would not even reply to her e-mails or telephone calls. She now pays tax whereas before she drew down jobseeker's allowance and she buys locally and circulates her earnings locally. She says the new arrangement would suggest she would have to travel to Athenry under the GRD-----

Acting Chairman (Senator Marie Moloney)

The Senator has gone way over time.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

-----and this would not give her the same service or understand her unique problems. To be fair to GRD in Athenry, it is not claiming it has the capacity. Will the Minister revisit this decision? As I understand it, it is now under judicial review. It was an appalling decision.

Acting Chairman (Senator Marie Moloney)

I have to be fair to the other Senators who are waiting to raise matters.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

For the second largest county in Ireland, the ideal decision is that Galway would be divided into two lots and that Connemara would be a stand-alone, separate lot. I thank the Minister of State and the indulgence of the House in respect of the time allocated to me.

Deputy Ann Phelan

The proposals outlined in Putting People First: Action Programme for Effective Local Government seek to position local government as the primary vehicle of governance and public service at local level leading economic, social and community development, delivering efficient and good value services, and representing citizens and local communities effectively and accountably. This is not only Government policy, it is the policy of local county councillors as well. As part of the programme of reform of local government, local community development committees, LCDCs, have been established in all local authority areas throughout the country. This is not just in Galway.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

That is understood.

Deputy Ann Phelan

These committees, comprising public-private socio-economic interests, will have responsibility for local and community development programmes on an area basis including the social inclusion and community activation programme, SICAP, to which the Senator refers. They will develop, co-ordinate and implement a more coherent and integrated approach to local and community development than applied heretofore with the aim of reducing duplication and overlap and optimising the use of available resources for the benefit of citizens and communities.

There was a tendering process. In accordance with the public spending code, legal advice, good practice internationally and in order to ensure the optimum delivery of services to clients, SICAP was subject to a public procurement process, which is in its final stages. In stage 1, joint applications were encouraged and organisations of varying sizes, for example, smaller organisations working in consortia with larger organisations, were invited to submit joint applications. The closing date for stage 2, invitation to tender, was 19 December 2014. Tenderers have now been informed of the outcome of their tender and local and community development committees are in the process of finalising contracts with the successful tenderers.

LCDCs have managed and implemented stage 2, invitation to tender, of the SICAP tendering process. SICAP was tendered for on the basis of lots. In most areas, this was one lot per local authority area. This reflects Government policy and the alignment process. In some areas, a decision was taken by the LCDC to divide the lot into smaller units. That was a decision of the LCDC in each case. The LCDC and not the Minister made this decision.

The LCDC is independent of the local authority in the performance of its functions. This independence is provided for explicitly in sections 49A(2) and 128B(8) of the Local Government Act 2001. Any decision made by an LCDC when carrying out its functions is solely a matter for that LCDC. That said, my Department advised in a letter to all LCDCs in July 2014 that in order to reduce the administrative burden for each LCDC, it would be prudent to have one lot only for each LCDC. I am satisfied that the decision of Galway LCDC to tender on the basis of one lot was taken with probity.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

I thank the Minister of State for her reply and the House for its indulgence in respect of the time. I hear what the Minister of State is saying about national policy. That is not at issue. I accept that the national devolves to local, etc., but the issue here is the way the committee made its decision. It is not putting people first at local level. If it was, this decision would not have been taken, given the vastness of the county and the differences in people's needs in west Galway and east Galway. The general view at the meeting, including that of people who are members of the LCDC committee, is that they did not know on what it was they were voting. That is a serious issue. Does the Minister of State accept how serious it is? Only five out of 19 committee members could cast a vote. How could that be a democratic decision? The view in the room and the view of everyone I am meeting is that the committee process which made the decision was flawed in the first instance. In summing up those circumstances, how can we revisit the LCDC decision in order that people will be informed on the next occasion?

Deputy Ann Phelan

It is not the intention of the Minister to micromanage the LCDCs. I again draw the Senator's attention to the fact that in some areas the decision was taken by the LCDC to divide the lot into smaller units. The LCDC is independent and the decision remained with it.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

It messed up in this instance.

Acting Chairman (Senator Marie Moloney)

Will the Senator, please, let the Minister of State answer?

Deputy Ann Phelan

The Senator will have to take up that issue with the LCDC. It is not my intention to micromanage them. As I mentioned, their independence is provided for explicitly in the Local Government Act 2001. Councillors throughout the country wanted this situation. They wanted more power and devolved power. They wanted to be independent in making decisions about their issues.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

They were not adequately informed.

Deputy Ann Phelan

We cannot decide that we are going to make them independent and then attempt to micromanage them.

Acting Chairman (Senator Marie Moloney)

In fairness to the other Senators, we will have to allow time for their matters.

Senator Fidelma Healy Eames

I thank the Minister of State and will relay her message.

Senator Denis Landy

A few more of us wish to speak before lunch.

Traffic Regulations Implementation

Senator Terry Leyden

I warmly welcome the Minister and thank him for coming. He has a very busy schedule and he did not receive much notice about this matter. I am, therefore, delighted that he is here. I also welcome Mr. Martin Plummer, chairman of the National Chauffeur Drivers Association; Mr. Mick Devine and his son, Shane Devine, who are members of the association and in the Visitors Gallery. I ask the Minister to seriously consider their situation.

The National Chauffeur Drivers Association is an independent and non-profit organisation representing the chauffeur-drive industry in Ireland. The association comprises more than 120 chauffeur-drive companies nationwide, with members operating more than 400 high-end vehicles. They perform an ambassadorial role for Ireland because they meet business people, as well as representatives of IDA Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and tourism interests coming to Ireland. They present a very positive side of Ireland, its people and its culture. I congratulate Mr. Mick Devine on receiving an international award for his work in that regard. He has driven luminaries such as Bruce Springsteen and others who are great ambassadors for Ireland. Regular clients include guests of the Government, trade delegations, diplomats and leading business executives.

The NCDA also has strong links with many important groups in the commercial and tourism sectors. Its members are regularly called on by the Government, Departments and leading businesses to service visitors in a professional, positive and welcoming manner. I was a guest in Taiwan and the airline, Emirates, provided chauffeur driven cars to collect clients at Dublin Airport to fly on to the Middle East and onwards to Taiwan and elsewhere. They are providing great employment opportunities. On the way back from the airport we were stopped by a member of An Garda Síochána who reminded the driver that he could go only certain ways as we drove down O'Connell Street. He was not in the bus lane.

That is the background. I could not believe people performing such a service, working for airlines on tight schedules, cannot use empty bus lines going to the airport. They are dealing with prominent business people coming here with the major international companies. Nine of the ten largest companies in the world are here, including Google, and they require speedy access to business meetings with Ministers, the Government and business contacts.

After the Minister makes his point, I will present the document to him, but I do not have time to outline all of the points today. In summary, he is a progressive Minister, which everybody accepts. When the late Seamus Brennan was Minister, he was on the verge of granting the concession to paid-up members who paid the full fees. In this modern Ireland, they should be granted this concession to drive in bus lanes when appropriate. They would not necessarily use them on every occasion but when required and it is an option they should have at their disposal.

I would like the Minister to take up the case. He has other issues on his desk, including Aer Lingus, and while this may not be a priority it is a priority for members who came to listen to the words of the Minister. We hope they will get some encouragement in this regard.

There are no objections from other organisations in this regard. This is a niche market providing great employment opportunities and those involved are great ambassadors in my experience. I was driven by two of the members from the airport when going out and coming back to Taiwan and their manner was positive as far as Ireland is concerned. In this regard, I would appreciate it if the Minister considered their case for using bus lanes.

Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (Deputy Paschal Donohoe)

I thank the Senator for raising this matter. I am pleased to come to the Chamber to respond and acknowledge representatives of the industry in the Visitors Gallery. I see Senator Terry Brennan also has guests in the Visitors Gallery. They are all welcome.

The legislation governing the usage of bus lanes is set out in the Road Traffic (Traffic and Parking) Regulations 1997, as amended. Under this legislation, buses and bicycles are allowed to avail of bus lanes, as are taxis in the case of with-flow bus lanes only. The rationale for introducing this legislation, and for creating the bus lane network itself, was to provide on-street priority for bus-based public transport. The intention is to make bus services both faster and more reliable, thereby attracting more people out of private cars and onto public transport. This, in turn, helps to reduce both congestion and pollution. The construction of the bus lane network was done at some expense and inconvenience to the public in order to enable this to happen.

Cyclists are permitted to use bus lanes because they are inherently vulnerable road users and would be safer in bus lanes than in general traffic. Initially, taxis were not allowed into bus lanes. It was only some time after the introduction of the lanes that it was agreed to allow taxis to use them. This was done only after much consideration, and was a concession based on the fact that taxis are available for on-street hire. Limousines, of course, are not. Vehicles used by members of the emergency services - the Garda, fire brigade and ambulance service - in the course of their duties may also be driven in bus lanes, in order to prevent delay in reaching the scenes of emergencies and in getting people to hospital.

Since the introduction of the bus lane network, my Department has received numerous requests to open bus lanes to other classes of road user. These have included requests relating to motorcycles, hackneys, and multi-occupancy cars. The issue of access for limousines has also been raised from time to time over the years. In all cases, my predecessors and I have taken the view that extending the use of bus lanes to other categories of vehicle would undermine the original purpose of these laws. The overriding concern in considering these applications is the carrying capacity of bus lanes. We do not want their primary role of providing bus priority to be undermined by allowing other vehicles access.

As a result, my predecessors and I have chosen to maintain the current restrictions on use of bus lanes. While in some cases the numbers of vehicles involved might not be large, conceding access to bus lanes to any new class of vehicles would make it difficult to argue against doing so for any other. In light of the original reasons for creating bus lanes, and the sound reasons for rejecting previous applications, I remain of the view that there is no ground for changing the law to allow limousines into bus lanes.

The Senator made the point that other organisations do not have an issue with this. I imagine they would be quite supportive of it happening because once any new class of vehicle comes in, it sets a precedent for arguing that more vehicles should be included. In the near future, I hope to see the number of buses in our country increase and that will mean even more demand for use of the bus lanes, which, in turn, makes it more difficult to allow other vehicles in.

The Senator has some documentation and information on the matter he has raised and I am happy to take it from him on the completion of this debate.

Senator Terry Leyden

In a sense, I am disappointed but this is the start of the campaign. As a former Minister of State, I know the Minister has set a certain precedent and he has not had the opportunity to study this in detail. I hope he does so in due course. Chauffeur driven cars will not stop in a bus lane, unlike taxis that may pick up passengers. Chauffeurs go straight through with no delay and they add a certain prestige to the whole process of promoting Ireland. Many other issues are involved and we have prestigious business people coming in. In addition, Emirates Airlines and others are using chauffeur driven cars in Dublin. They are providing much employment.

From a transport and other points of view, this does not require new legislation but a ministerial order. Perhaps we could do this as a test run and make the concession to chauffeur driven cars during certain busy periods of the year such as summer months in a pilot scheme to see how it would operate in reality. Would it affect traffic flow? Not many cars are involved and it is not a case of liberalising the entire situation. I will leave it open and say nothing further because the Minister has a liberal approach to ministerial responsibility. In due course and after consideration and meeting representatives, the Minister may look at this issue afresh.

Deputy Paschal Donohoe

I thank the Senator for raising the issue. My challenge about this matter is not just how the limousine owners or its representatives will respond.

The measure proposed would set a precedent in the use of bus lanes by other vehicles. I am confident that bus lanes will become busier as more people use bus transport and more buses are supplied to respond to higher demand. I do not wish to change the priority afforded to buses and taxis in bus lanes. As I indicated, I will be pleased to receive any information the Senator may have on the issue raised by him.

Electricity Transmission Network

Senator Denis Landy

I welcome the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White. I ask him to outline the current status of the review of EirGrid's proposals for the Grid Link and Grid West projects being undertaken by an independent expert panel under the chairmanship of Mrs. Catherine McGuinness. I submitted my request to raise this issue on the commencement of business last week. Subsequently, on Friday, EirGrid made a major announcement and published a draft consultation document. Many people in Tipperary, Waterford and other counties were able to sleep easier once they had digested the contents of the document. I commend the Minister and his predecessor, Deputy Pat Rabbite, for the work they have done with EirGrid. The company's starting point two years ago was that there was only one show in town, namely, the use of overhead lines and pylons to run new cables across the Golden Vale, through counties Waterford, Wexford and Kildare and across the west. The State company has now indicated that it can generate sufficient energy and power through the existing network by using new technologies. Some 35,000 people made submissions on the proposed Grid25 route from County Cork to County Kildare, a large number of whom live in my community. Having conducted some research on this matter, I have learned that EirGrid will make its submission to the independent expert panel for its consideration. I ask the Minister to outline what the timescale for the panel's deliberations will be and when it will produce an interim report or make an announcement. It was established following considerable public discourse and activity, including protests and, as the Minister will recall, a high profile meeting of the Labour Party on the issue in Killarney attended by approximately 100 Deputies, Senators and councillors. I was pleased that this meeting moved the Minister's predecessor to establish the independent expert panel in January 2014. After 15 months of deliberations, the expert group has not, to the best of my knowledge, presented a report. While the number of representations made to me declined this week as people read reports on EirGrid's plans, I was asked many times last week about the independent expert panel's report. In the hierarchy of things, the Minister will have received a report from EirGrid setting out how it wishes to proceed. The independent review panel obviously has a different status from the company and most people are awaiting its report on the issue. I raise this issue in an effort to glean some information from the Minister. With others, I made representations on behalf of the affected communities, to which the Minister and his predecessor responded. This is what democracy is about and last week's announcement was a good one for people involved in this issue nationwide.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Alex White)

I thank the Senator for his remarks. I understand he framed his question prior to last Friday. He will understand, therefore, that in my initial remarks I will respond to his question, as framed, and that we may have an opportunity for a further exchange thereafter. The independent expert panel was established in January 2014 to oversee preparation by EirGrid of comprehensive, route specific studies and reports on fully underground and overhead options for the Grid West and Grid Link projects. The studies and reports are to include assessments of potential environmental impacts, technical efficacy and cost factors. I am advised that EirGrid submitted a report on the Grid West project to the panel in early February 2015. The report identifies two overhead line options and one underground cable option. These options were also referred to in EirGrid's recently published strategy. That report was considered by the panel at its most recent meeting on 24 February. I understand the panel sought further information on certain parts of the report and will engage with EirGrid in the coming weeks in that regard. I am advised that the panel expects to be in a position to provide me with an opinion on the Grid West project in April. With regard to the Grid Link project, the panel expects to be in a position to provide me with an opinion on the project in the third quarter of the year. The opinions provided for me by the panel will address the completeness, objectivity and comparability of the studies and reports. The panel will also oversee publication of the reports by EirGrid prior to the company proceeding to public consultation on the two projects. I draw attention, as the Senator did, to EirGrid's new draft strategy entitled, Your Grid, Your Views, Your Tomorrow, which was published on Friday, 27 March. The draft is shaped by three key pillars, namely, open engagement with communities; making the most of new technologies; and a commitment to make the existing grid work harder before building new transmission infrastructure. The draft strategy which reviews the Grid Link, Grid West and North-South transmission line projects highlights how Ireland's energy transmission needs can be met in light of updated projections of future electricity demand. It points to technological developments which, if adopted, could reduce the overall need for additional transmission grid infrastructure. The paper confirms the need to reinforce the transmission system in the south east but suggests an alternative to the original Grid Link proposal which would involve upgrading existing transmission lines rather than building new ones. It also puts forward a new option for Grid West which would significantly reduce the amount of new overhead cable required. It reaffirms the need for the North-South project.

Senator Denis Landy

I thank the Minister for his succinct report on the current position. I assume the independent expert panel is required to submit its reports to the Minister before the proposed projects can proceed or another round of consultations can take place. I ask the Minister to clarify the position in that regard.

EirGrid has indicated it will engage in public consultations on its draft strategy entitled, Your Grid, Your Views, Your Tomorrow. I respectfully request that the Minister speak in forceful terms to the company about how it intends to engage with local communities. I will cite a brief example of EirGrid's previous engagement.

In my town, Carrick-on-Suir, an eminent professional went to seek information pertinent to where he lived. He put a series of questions to the EirGrid representatives and, unhappy with the answers he had received, returned in the evening, met a different official and received a different series of answers from those he had received in the morning from the same company. That is completely unacceptable.

Acting Chairman (Senator Marie Moloney)

Does the Senator have a question for the Minister?

Senator Denis Landy

They say they have these offices, but they are not being opened at the proper times. It is not insignificant that negotiations with Great Britain on the memorandum of understanding to export wind energy supplies are dead in the water and not going to go ahead. The rush to provide infrastructure to avail of wind farms across the country is history because there will be no sale across the water. Therefore, I welcome the introduction of the technology, but the number of power lines needed has abated drastically. I would like to see a recognition of this. On the wind set-back guidelines-----

Acting Chairman (Senator Marie Moloney)

Can this lead to a question for the Minister?

Senator Denis Landy

He will welcome these questions because he is up to speed on the matter.

Acting Chairman (Senator Marie Moloney)

I understand that, but the rule of the House is that the Senator should ask a supplementary question.

Senator Denis Landy

We need responses.

Deputy Alex White

The first point concerns how the new EirGrid draft strategy will fit with the work of the expert panel. The review identifies three potential options for Grid Link and four possible solutions for Grid West. It is a draft document for public consultation and, as I said, there are three potential options for Grid Link, one of which the Senator regards as preferable. The consultation process can facilitate that response. EirGrid will continue its evaluation of the options with a view to making a submission to the independent expert panel. It will be required to and will balance the wider economic, environmental and technical considerations and, most importantly, the views of industry, policy makers and the people to find the best outcomes. On foot of its consideration of EirGrid's submission, the independent expert panel will submit a report to me which, to reassure the Senator, will be followed by a further round of public consultations. There is evidence that EirGrid has much improved its engagement with communities and the public and in a recent report it recognised some shortcomings in that aspect of its work in recent years. It has taken significant and commendable steps to address the issue. I would be upset if individuals who engaged with it were not satisfied with the responses received or received inconsistent responses. I would like that issue to be addressed and I am sure it will be.

In terms of the exports initiative, I would not describe it as dead in the water or complete history, the term used by the Senator. The project will not go ahead and I do not believe there is any prospect of a similar project going ahead in the near to mid-term but, looking to 2020 and beyond, there are possibilities and potential for the future. Even if there is no potential for exports, we still need to continue to make progress and up our game in the renewables sector. Onshore wind energy projects will be one aspect but not the only one. The necessity to increase the use of renewables and reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels will continue, but we should do so in a prudent way and only build infrastructure when it is necessary do so. I agree with the Senator on that point and EirGrid has made an assessment of what is necessary. Let us not build infrastructure unless it is absolutely required and let us have regard to the needs, wishes and views of communities. Both imperatives are reflected in its recent report, for which it is to be commended. This was reflected in my discussions with it in recent months.

Sitting suspended at 11.25 a.m. and resumed at noon.

Seanad Éireann díospóireacht - Wednesday, 1 Apr 2015