Government policy relating to data centres is primarily a matter for the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and any review would be a matter for him. The Government statement on the role of data centres in Ireland's enterprise strategy of 2018 recognises that a plan-led approach is needed to develop a range of measures to promote regional options for data centre investment, minimising the need for additional electricity grid infrastructure. Data centre-related electricity demand in Ireland c…

The Deputy is correct that we must ensure our planning matches other objectives, including our decarbonisation objectives. Included in that is the planning of the grid system because that is probably the biggest constraint. It is one thing if something has planning permission, but whether it can get a grid connection and has good access to the grid is probably the main constraint. That is why EirGrid's consultation is key. Every sector of the economy, such as the transport, agriculture and industrial sectors, inclu…

The strategic planning process will have to take into account EirGrid's analysis to show where is the best place, what is the number and what is the limit. The Deputy is right that we also must look at water use. This has to come from the land use plan the Government is initiating, which is also key to meeting our climate and biodiversity targets. Yes, the planning process has to take into account the low-carbon efficiency of the energy system and the ability to deliver water and other resources before any commitme…

There are 32,373 premises within the national broadband plan intervention area for County Donegal within the national broadband plan. As of early March 6,389, or 20%, of the premises in the county have been surveyed.  Of these premises that have been surveyed to date, National Broadband Ireland, NBI, indicates that approximately half will be passed and ready for connection next year with the other half passed and ready for connection in 2023. Further details are available on specific areas within Donegal through th…

It is true that the national broadband plan has been somewhat delayed by Covid. As with so many other areas, workers are not available and contractors are not able to come into the country, but we are progressing at full speed and are working with the company and with other companies to see if we can accelerate the programme further. In truth, this was originally a seven-year plan and I would like to see if we can bring that back to a shorter number of years. Our commitment to Donegal is very real. There is a €128 …

There is no intention, far from it, to leave Donegal behind. It is a county that has suffered from a lack of infrastructure and a lack of connection to the rest of the State in transport and a whole range of areas. I absolutely accept that Donegal should get priority. The roll-out of this NBI plan, with regard to where the surveys are done or how the network is developed, is a technical one. It is not that we, as politicians, are telling to NBI to do Cavan first and go back to Donegal later. It is far from that. It…

The Government is committed to an average 7% per annum reduction in overall greenhouse gas emissions from 2021 to 2030, equivalent to a 51% reduction over the decade, and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. A key aspect of delivering on this ambition will be enacting the climate action and low carbon development (amendment) Bill, which will underpin our policies. The Bill will significantly strengthen the statutory framework for climate governance, with appropriate oversight by the Government, th…

It is starting to develop carbon. The Deputy spoke lastly about carbon capture and storage. It is very expensive. We do not have many examples of large industrial applications but I believe it is likely that by the end of this decade we will start to see deployment at scale for both industrial production purposes, power generation and potentially in other areas. We have to be very careful about that. It should not in any way be a continuation of a fossil fuels pass. We know that in the likes of our industrial emiss…

I look forward to the Dáil debate on that aspect of the Bill and whether there is such an over-reliance. In any climate action plan we are developing now I do not believe there will be an over-reliance on that because what the Deputy said is true. The real cost, scale and widespread deployment of carbon capture and storage is still evolving in the same way that, for example, there is huge investment, which is going on in both areas now, in the use of hydrogen fuels. I refer to green hydrogen as a potential replacem…

Under the programme for Government and the Climate Action Plan 2019, Ireland had adopted a target of a 70% renewable share in electricity production by 2030. This will contribute to meeting the Government target of reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030 and meeting the long-term target of climate neutrality by 2050. Electrifying large parts of our economy, including our heating and transport systems, means building a grid that can handle a high level of renewables which will be critical to our s…

I absolutely agree with the Deputy on the development of renewables, offshore wind in particular, and particularly in the west, where our sea area is ten times our land area. The highest wind speeds are in the west, north west and south west, so that is where we have huge potential for economic development. I absolutely agree with the Deputy on the Shannon Estuary. It is not just Moneypoint; there is also potential in Foynes and even areas around Ballylongford and other areas. We expect and will plan for such areas…

To go back to Moneypoint and to give an example of how things are changing, five years ago Moneypoint accounted for about 16% of our electricity generation; it is probably down to 2% or so in the past year or two. It will continue to decrease because if one considers the price of carbon on the emissions trading system markets, which is about €40 per tonne at the moment, at that price it is very hard for coal to come into the merit order among Irish power plants. However, what Moneypoint has is incredible sea jetty …

The North-South interconnector is critical to improving the efficient operation of the all-island single electricity market and increasing security of electricity supply in Ireland and Northern Ireland. It will also help Ireland to move towards our 70% renewable electricity target by 2030. A resilient and well-connected energy infrastructure is vital for Ireland's economic well-being and the ability to respond to the future needs of energy consumers. The Government does not have any role in the delivery of electric…

I was on the Oireachtas joint committee back in the early 2000s when this issue first arose, and the need to strengthen our grid infrastructure and interconnection with the North of Ireland was set out with real urgency. In the meantime, there have been a lot of positive developments: the creation of a single North-South electricity market, the meeting of 2040 renewables targets and an all-Ireland approach to energy. Everything I have seen over the past 18 years looking at this tells me that this is a critical piec…

While it is true that we need to have the people with us, they will expect and want an energy system that will work and will deliver all the goods that power supply does deliver for us, namely, heating and lighting our homes, and helping to provide jobs. EirGrid is a public service company with no interest in this project other than serving the public. That is its entire objective. I believe that it is correct in its engineering assessment that it will not be possible to meet those two objectives by putting power l…

I will not read out the prepared response, as it is very similar to that which I read out in response to Deputy Smith's question earlier. I will come to key point at issue if I understand the Deputy's question correctly, that is, whether we know exactly what the technologies are that are going to deliver the scale of the decarbonisation we want. We do not know this yet. This may even form part of a response to the previous question. The management of the electricity grid will continue to evolve in a way that is not…

I agree with the Deputy that we should not be blinded by techno optimism. A variety of the technological solutions that we have heard mentioned are highly problematic, and we should not go next or near them. For example, people talk about putting particulates in the upper atmosphere. That would have major knock-on consequences for other aspects of our complex life systems and we should not go next or near it. There is false optimism that we will be able to suck carbon out of the air. We should be very wary about fa…

The Deputy is absolutely right. The first real technology we turn to is rewetting our bogs and managing that. Nature-based solutions are going to be at the centre of our response to climate change, for example, in how we manage our bogs, what type of farming we do and storing carbon in our pasture land and forestry. In the process, we will improve water quality and reduce ammonia, nitrogen and other pollutants. That it the first priority. The second priority is in changing our everyday transport system and our home…

I speak to the Taoiseach on a weekly basis, including on issues such as the one the Deputy has raised. Last Monday week, we had a special Cabinet sub-committee meeting on climate change, which included a presentation from EirGrid and, as part of that, a discussion around the North-South interconnector. I have discussed the matter with the Deputy's party leader. I have also discussed it with Ms Nichola Mallon, the Minister responsible for infrastructure in the North, and Ms Diane Dodds, who is the Northern Ireland M…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her direction because it is similar to the approach I would take in discussing this matter with the Minister, Ms Mallon, or anyone else. It is not appropriate for us to comment on the legal proceedings taking place in the North, which will have to be worked through in their own time. As I said in response to an earlier question, EirGrid's management of any project is a matter for the company and we do not get down to specific project management details like that. EirGrid will m…