There has been no change of policy and there is no intention to open any doors or change any previously held position in any way. What I said was true. The war in Ukraine has changed the world, and the issue of having storage as security backup for our country is something that cannot be ignored. That does not mean that we import fracked gas, or do not live within our climate limits and follow the IPCC. We will not consider facilities which breach those constraints which we have to have first and foremost in our mi…

We will have no new fossil fuel infrastructure in this country that sees us breaching our climate limits. We are currently building emergency gas-fired generation, which is new fossil fuel infrastructure, but it is only being agreed on and provided for on a security basis as long as we know it will not lead to us breaching our emissions limits. I would argue that there is an issue around the deployment of fracked gas. It is important that we continue with the approach that has been taken in the House over a number …

There are already and will be seven turbines in place at the Arklow wind bank, which have been in place for almost 20 years. Under the climate action plan 2023, the Government has committed to a target of a further 5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity in Ireland’s maritime area by 2030 and a further 2 GW from wind farms, which will be developed for conversion to other power uses. Significant work has been undertaken by my Department in the past two years to develop the regulatory framework to enable the constru…

The critical thing in the lifetime of this Government is getting those phase 1 projects, of which there are six on the east coast and one on the west coast, through the auction process and subject to their qualifying on that, into the planning system this year. The timelines depend on An Bord Pleanála, but we are conscious we are in a race with other European countries, or with the US and others, who are looking for the same supply chain, ships, cables and other infrastructure. We are looking to try to make sure, w…

I very much agree with the Deputy's vision of where we need to go. We were one of the initial leaders in offshore wind and then other countries, as the Deputy says, such as the UK, Germany, Holland and Belgium developed much quicker and much faster. However, we also developed renewables onshore. Within in a European context, we are in the top three countries in integrating new variable renewable power. We are actually quite successful in this area of renewable development, but that success now moves to both solar a…

Ireland has expressed strong views within the EU on the compatibility of the Energy Charter Treaty with the Paris Climate Agreement, especially the charter treaty's dispute resolution mechanism. We continue to express our strong views within the EU on these issues. We believe it carries more weight in international negotiations to advocate them as part of the European Union. In 2017, the Energy Charter Conference decided to modernise the treaty in order to respond to criticisms of the dispute resolution mechanism i…

I had meetings last week with some of the nine countries the Deputy mentioned. They were very appreciative of our support and our co-ordinated work with them within the European Union to seek to deliver a withdrawal from the treaty. We are best placed and have most influence in that European Union process to achieve that objective rather than acting unilaterally. However, as I said in my opening response, should that not be successful, we reserve the right to act in that way. I agree with the Deputy. I do not belie…

I do not disagree with the criticisms the Deputy outlined in the first part of her last contribution. However, we are also in the middle of negotiations and discussions with the European Commission on the issue. Various Commission papers are being circulated. It would not be right for us to abandon that process and-----

They have not. They are working with us and are appreciative of our support in working in a co-ordinated European way to see how we can achieve and deliver a European withdrawal which meets the objectives of those nine countries and will also meet the Irish objectives and still maintain a common European position. That is a prize worth trying to gain and deliver. We are in the middle of doing that at this time.

My Department is at an advanced stage of completing this review. A detailed technical analysis has been published and an extensive consultation process has been carried out. The response to the consultation was extensive, with more than 450 submissions received from a broad range of individuals and organisations. The consultation responses were reviewed and analysed, and they have provided important insights on a number of aspects such as risks, mitigation options and policy measures. My recommendations must be cog…

That is a good question. The real challenge in energy policy is how to meet all three objectives. In my mind, increasingly it is the environmental imperative that comes first because in tackling climate emissions and meeting the goals there it is a clear measure. Either we live within the sectoral targets and the national cap on climate emissions as part of the European Union and the Paris climate agreement or we do not. It is a binary, yes-no question: are we within our targets? When it comes to security and affor…

The timeline, as I said earlier, is months and I hope it is within weeks. It will not be later this year, as I expect to be able to publish it in late spring or summer. I was expecting to publish the Dermot McCarthy report at the start of the year but it was decided, given that we were developing this further energy security analysis, that it would be better to publish his report in tandem with it. His report has been well received internally in the Department and the various agencies involved in it. It has provide…

The overhead alternating current, AC, link between the Irish and Northern Irish electricity grids is a critical infrastructure project for the island of Ireland. It will be the backbone of a fit-for-purpose electricity system that will ensure energy security, allow more renewables to be used on the island, reduce the need to burn gas and coal, reduce electricity costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The AC overground backbone line effectively binds the two electricity grids. This will allow the grids to stabil…

I absolutely accept Deputy Brendan Smith's interest and his clear commitment to representing his constituency and various views. This has been going on for longer than 16 years. If I recall, this project first came to my attention 20 years ago. We have been analysing the options for 20 years. There are always different commercial options but all of the analysis has been consistent and shows there would be a significant cost to the Irish consumer in going with an alternative approach underground, as Deputy Smith sai…

The future for our country, our Continent and the wider world will be electrification, with electricity replacing fossil fuels. That is where the new economy and the industrial revolution are taking place, and that is central to our security, both economic and environmental. The characteristics of that new network will involve certain locations where there are high-speed, long-distance international transmission connections, and we are building those first as DC. However, it will also be critical for any country, a…

I appreciate the question. I do not have the answer from the Department to hand but I will commit to look at the option of such grants or support being provided for stone wall cladding. I look forward to receiving from the Deputy more specific details that might inform the approach we will take in delivering such a service to the Irish people.

I thank Deputy Gould for asking the question, which I know he has raised previously in the House. My Department funds a number of grant schemes, administered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, to support homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Contractors operating under any scheme supported by an SEAI grant must carry out the works in line with the domestic technical standards and specifications, as well as best practice and technical guidance documents, including NSAI S.R. 5…

The national retrofit plan sets out the Government's approach to achieving the climate action plan targets of upgrading the equivalent of 500,000 homes to a building energy rating, BER, of B2, the cost-optimal level, and installing 400,000 heat pumps to replace older, less efficient heating systems by 2030. To promote and incentivise the achievement of these targets, last year the Government approved a package of significantly enhanced supports to make it easier and more affordable for homeowners to undertake home …

I beg to differ with Deputy O'Rourke. I do not have the exact statistics in front of me.

I only saw them briefly yesterday but across each of the sectors in which the SEAI is working, we are seeing an incredible increase in demand for improvements to buildings, the introduction of solar energy and across every category. There has been an incredible level of growth, of up to 250%, in a whole variety of different cases. The absolute priority is to make sure that we deliver for those households most at risk. The warmer homes scheme, which represents a large percentage of our budget, targets those on the l…