I assure the Deputy I am not sitting on the report. It deserves scrutiny and that actions be taken from it. That is the work I am doing with the Minister, Deputy Heydon, and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. When we publish it, we will be able to show some exemplar projects in this country. Geraldine Tallon and her team looked across Europe at community-based, land-based projects and examples in Ireland came to the fore. Our job is to scale this up. I would like to see this go to the Oireachtas committee. I…

I appreciate that the Deputy is asking the question slightly in the dark because he has seen phase 1, but he has not seen the phase 2 report. I am genuinely anxious to get this report published so people can see what is in it. The Deputy mentioned the intensification of farming in certain areas. There are options in the report and certain scenarios are laid out in it, so it is not directing us as policymakers to do A, B, C or D. It is a very significant piece of work that has been done and it will absolutely guide …

As Minister, I meet with a range of stakeholders on important topics including energy prices, which is one of the most pressing. I can confirm that I have met with both the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, which is assigned consumer protection functions under the Electricity Regulation Act, and energy suppliers since being appointed as Minister. On 26 September 2025, I met with the four biggest energy suppliers in Ireland, Electric Ireland, Bord Gáis Energy, SSE Airtricity and Energia, at separate meeti…

It is important to acknowledge that the largest energy retailer, Electric Ireland, did not increase its prices. I did discuss those very matters with the four companies in relation to their margins. The IEA report looked at the margin between retail and wholesale. It is not that the retail price is three times higher in Ireland than in other places. It is the margin. There are specific, unique characteristics to Ireland, particularly in relation to us being an island nation, the reliance that we still have on impor…

The Deputy understands how the energy markets work. I am just stating it factually in relation to the time lag between wholesale price decreases and retail price decreases. There are unique attributes to Ireland. That said, energy costs are too high and we need to bring those prices down permanently. We are affected by geopolitical issues. Ukraine has had an effect, absolutely. Europe has had to pivot away, and rightly so, from dependence on Russian gas and oil. We are still importing a significant amount of our en…

I acknowledge that the Deputy is not opposed to renewable energy. I note the recent High Court rulings related to private nuisance claims and related awards of damages connected with noise from particular wind farm developments. We currently have over 5 GW of onshore wind generation and in 2024, wind accounted for 33% our electricity demand. This is related to the previous question on pricing which I have just answered. Ireland has one of the best wind resources in the world. We are already among world leaders for …

Approximately 33% of our electricity comes through onshore wind energy. There are significant wind farm developments across the country, many of which do not cause any difficulty for any communities. The same goes with solar. I have visited many of them as well. People need clean, green renewable energy that is affordable and affordability will be driven through renewables. That said, however, the noise element of the guidelines is critically important. I have updated the Deputy on where that is at. The adoption of…

Now I am beginning to wonder whether the Deputy is for wind energy or not, following his last comments. The largest renewable provider of energy in the country is Bord na Móna. That is a company that has pivoted and is an example of how a company can transition from fossil fuels and be a leader in the delivery of renewables on land we own as a State. We see that when we drive through the country. Curtailment costs are an issue and reducing dispatch down is an issue. Why is that? It is because the grid needs upgradi…

-----and that is critical. No, this is onshore.

We do of course but we need them to come through planning. We have five projects still in planning with An Coimisiún Pleanála and we are committed to offshore as well.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Cearúil as an gceist thábhachtach. I thank him for this important question. Our climate action plan specifies a target of 5 GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. That is not going to happen but we need to ensure those projects are in construction and that is down to planning. This target will be met in the early 2030s through a combination of projects from phase 1 and from within the south coast DMAP. The five phase 1 projects with a combined capacity of 3.8 GW are in development …

There are a couple of things there. We have an independent planning process. Sometimes it is a frustration for us, in that we want to see things delivered quicker but that is the reality. We have had people who will object to offshore wind as well. We respect the right of third parties. However, we have done things well too. If you look at onshore, which I have mentioned previously, we are a European leader in the integration of renewables into our grid. We are a European leader - and one of the world leaders; numb…

Regarding MARA, which I established in my previous Ministry, it has statutory timeframes for decision-making. The problem is it is not meeting them. That is a problem. It is working towards that. That means the connection policy from EirGrid will also be published on time. I attend the offshore wind energy task force and, for the first time, I brought this sector into the room. Therefore, it is not just Government agencies. We have brought in the development sector and it is at all of the meetings. Instead of peopl…

The programme for Government acknowledges the increased energy cost pressures on households and businesses. I know, as I said earlier, that that is a real issue for people. The programme for Government commits to bringing forward additional measures to address those costs, and we have discussed that. I established a cross-government energy affordability task force. We identified particular measures, which we have dealt with in this budget. A further piece of work we are doing, which I will bring forward, is the fin…

Okay. I will come back in on some of that.

As I have said in the House before, I reject both the assertions from the Department of public expenditure and the comments made earlier this year on housing and data centres. They are not correct. Government policy is clear on this. We have a growing population and growing housing stock, thankfully. Price review 6, when published before the end of this year, will show how we will meet that future energy demand. We need to invest in our grid, and there will be a cost associated with that. I mentioned what we were d…

As regards cost transparency, absolutely, and we need an analysis, and we are doing an analysis, of the costs that are there. I have met the four largest energy providers and have interrogated them on this very matter. We have to watch this very closely. Energy bills are too high in Ireland. They are too high right across Europe. In Cyprus, net energy costs are about 20% of average net pay, so we are not on our own on this. We are about the eighth most expensive in Europe. As I mentioned to Deputy Whitmore earlier,…

Tuigim an cheist. I want to put this in context. We go back to the Energy Security in Ireland to 2030 report that we published, and we published the Cambridge Economic Policy Associates report as well. We offered briefings on that too. A very clear risk was identified in that we have no gas reserve in this country. That is why we are proceeding with the floating storage and regasification unit, FSRU, which will be State-owned, State-led and State-operated. I expect we will receive a decision shortly from Gas Networ…

As the Deputy knows, I received a letter from An Coimisiún Pleanála that was addressed to the wrong office. It was received months after it was sent. I thought it was a strange letter to receive from An Coimisiún Pleanála, but I did respond to it. I provided the Government's position on it. The Deputy mentioned the fracked gas policy that was set aside. It was set aside because my predecessor received legal advice that clearly stated it was not legally sound and that policy should not differentiate between the type…

I understand the point being made. We are committed to the publicly owned FSRU. We have actually advanced it. We meet regularly on this with GNI involved with my own officials and myself to expedite the delivery of it. Hopefully, the Deputy will see that in the coming weeks. I expect there will be a decision regarding options for its location, and indeed, its location. That is what the Government is committed to from an energy security perspective. That is absolutely consistent with the climate action plan. I want …