Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2026: First Stage
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Rose Conway-Walsh (SF), Mayo

I want to thank my colleague Deputy Pa Daly and Muireann Meehan Speed in his office for their work on this Bill. It is critically important. What is does is very simple. It prioritises the needs in local communities and areas. It seeks to strike a balance in regard to what is critical infrastructure for small and medium businesses that are really dependent on energy and also in terms of the housing that is needed to house employees in areas.
It is about getting that balance and addressing what is needed here because businesses cannot expand without electricity and cannot attract and retain workers if those workers have nowhere affordable to live. This does speak to the underinvestment in the grid and in electricity and how energy is really exposed in this situation. There has to be a rapid upgrading of the grid as well. However, we cannot continue to allow data centres to take priority over these homes and over workers, who sustain our economy and communities. The Bill seeks to put public interest first, ensuring that scarce grid capacity is prioritised for housing and essential infrastructure. It is a practical Bill that I hope the Government will support. It makes absolute sense. It is urgent given the pressure that is being put on the affordability and availability of energy to homes and small businesses.

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Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16