Labour party advocates undersea power cables

The Labour Party in Ireland is proposing a new solution to the country’s power problems - undersea power cables.

The current plans, set out by EirGrid, has been the subject of sustained protests by lobby groups. The plan involves installing overhead power lines in Cavan, Meath, Tyrone and Monaghan. Lobby groups want the cables to be laid underground, although this could increase the cost of the project tenfold.

The Labour Party has now been given technical advice on a third possible option of laying the cables under the sea. Labour’s energy spokesperson, Liz McManus, is requesting an extension to an independent study that is about to be commissioned to look at the feasibility of underground cables. McManus is calling for the study to also investigate the possibility of undersea cables.

The Labour party have submitted a report to the study suggesting that a subsea electricity connection between the north and the south of the island “may be feasible and deserves consideration.” The reported added that “This would require the terms of reference of the independent study to incorporate this approach.”