Senator Robbie Gallagher raised the issue in the Seanad yesterday.

'The Government and the administration in the north must now listen to the people and underground this project'

The interconnector will underpin the efficient operation of the all-island electricity market and fix a bottleneck that costs millions of euro every year.

A spokesperson for the Department of Environment said work on this review "is well advanced at this stage".

Noel Keelan said "this tells you the intentions of EirGrid".

Issues around access to land for Eirgrid was raised at a recent Council meeting.

Clifford Kelly told the meeting that "Eirgrid is going into people's land without permission".