Local representatives warned that the over grounding of this project would only lead to further delays and unprecedented levels of confrontation.

Eirgrid thinks it will come into Cavan, Monaghan and Meath and put them up now in spite of the people.

Senator Robbie Gallagher raised the issue in the Seanad yesterday.

The North South Interconnector construction will see 409 pylons, up to 51 metres high.

'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 new report from Eirgrid highlighted strains on electricity supplies, leading to fears of possible outages in the coming months.