It is ludicrous to suggest that bin companies are putting up their prices because of the deposit return scheme. They are absolutely capable of putting up their prices, and often did so before the deposit return scheme was brought in. People have said to me that they are not happy about the number of bin companies operating on the same streets around the country and that this is not the normal way that bin services or waste collection operates in other countries. I have commissioned a study of the market structure t…

Having regard to the continued high energy costs for households, I am pleased to commend the Electricity Costs (Emergency Measures) Domestic Accounts Bill 2024 to the House. This Bill will establish two schemes to give further support to households with their electricity bills, following the success of the previous electricity costs emergency benefit schemes in 2022 and 2023. The electricity costs emergency benefit scheme IV, will see two payments of €125 made to approximately 2.2 million domestic electricity accou…

Senator Boyhan asked about the rate of VAT and if we are giving money to electricity consumers, on one hand, and taking it away through VAT, on the other. We reduced VAT on electricity and gas at great expense to 9% from 13.5%, and that is being extended to 30 April. Senator McGahon pointed out that this is an important measure that will really help people. I have spoken directly to people who have said they found it a great benefit to get this money into their accounts. It takes many tens of thousands of people ou…

One of the things we do every year is meet with people who are representatives of those living in energy poverty and those who are directly affected by it. One of the things they say to us is that they did not want to have large arrears building up on their electricity accounts where they have prepay meters. This amendment proposes to remove all arrears limits on prepay meters. As with the previous electricity credit scheme, prepay customers will have the payments credited to their accounts and suppliers will engag…

I thank the Senator. These proposed amended sections 6(3) and (4) seek to include a limit of 28 days for a supplier to consider a review request and 28 days to respond in writing to review requests. While I recognise the merit of this amendment, this could cause unintended consequences for electricity suppliers and consumers. Setting a limit of 28 days for a supplier review and response could prove difficult to implement and adhere to if issues arose. I note that with previous schemes there was a large increase in …

I agree with the underlying sentiment of this amendment. We did accept it last year. The issue is that there is a typo in the amendment which refers to the No. III scheme rather than the No. IV scheme. What we are willing to do is to continue to supply these reports on an administrative basis. I give my commitment as Minister of State that they will continue to be produced in the same way they were produced over the past year. It is a good thing to have transparency over the operation of the scheme. We will continu…

I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the draft South Coast Designated Maritime Area Plan for Offshore Renewable Energy, a copy of which was laid before Dáil Éireann on 26th September, 2024. On behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, I welcome this opportunity to seek the support of Deputies for Ireland’s first forward spatial plan for offshore renewable energy. The draft DMAP identifies four maritime areas for accelerated and sustainable deployments of offshore wind off the south coast…

On behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, I welcome this opportunity to seek the support of Senators for Ireland's first forward spatial plan for offshore renewable energy. The draft designated maritime area plan, DMAP, identifies four maritime areas for accelerated and sustainable development of offshore wind off the south coast of Ireland over the next decade. If approved by the Oireachtas, this will represent a landmark event in forward spatial planning in this country. It will s…

I listened to everything the Senators had to say and I am glad there is cross-party support for the motion. I will start with Senator Garvey who asked about offshore wind in County Clare. Moneypoint has a huge grid connection and will be part of the future renewable energy grid and electricity supply of our country so where does it fit in? Unsurprisingly, Senator Timmy Dooley also asked about Clare and in fact, a DMAP, which will start next year, is being prepared for the county. Clare has not been forgotten and wi…

The DMAP for the west coast is going to begin next year. The fact we have done one DMAP means that we have learned from that and the next DMAP will be delivered faster. We will also have a new regulatory regime and new planning Act, which means we will have better guarantees on the times that we can deliver.

We will start the DMAP in 2025.

I do not have a conclusion date for that.

I need to conclude my speech as well. The approval of this motion will give effect to the plan-led approach to offshore renewable development in Ireland, supported by the House in May 2023. It is a critical step towards unlocking Ireland's offshore wind potential while securing our energy independence and prosperity over the coming decades. Its approval should be considered a matter of strategic national importance. I thank everyone.

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The impact of the sharp rise in energy costs experienced in 2022 is still being felt. Households are paying on average 59% more for their electricity, and 90% more for their gas, than they were pre-crisis. This is despite the multiple rounds of price reductions announced by suppliers since 2023. Households are still in need of support to ensure they are not put under significant pressure to meet their energy costs this winter. It is of the utmost importance to the …

I thank all Deputies who made contributions on Second Stage of this electricity credits Bill. We will be back later today to discuss this on Committee Stage. I will address various points that have been made. They have been constructive and I will not try to play politics with them. We are trying to deal with energy poverty, which is more important than scoring points off one another. I recognise many constructive points were made and genuine questions asked about why things are the way they are and whether they ca…

I thank the Deputy. The purpose of amendments Nos. 6 and 13 is to insert text that will ultimately remove arrears limits on prepay meters. I have a prepay meter, so I am familiar with the system. I am interested to discuss further with the Deputy whatever we can do for people with prepay meters, although not necessarily what we can do for me. As with the previous electricity credit schemes, prepayment customers will have the payment credited to their accounts and suppliers will engage with customers regarding arran…

Amendment No. 7 relates to section 6 of the Bill and a review by electricity suppliers for customers who did not receive payment under the scheme. I thank the Deputy for the amendment, which I propose to reject. Proposed amendments for Parts 3 and 4 seek to include a limit of 28 days for a supplier to consider a review request and 28 days to respond in writing to review requests. I recognise the merit of this amendment but it could cause unintended consequences for electricity suppliers and consumers by setting a l…

No, but I thank Deputy O'Rourke for submitting the amendment last year, when I did accept it. The amendment calls for a report, and reporting has been going on since last year. It will continue this year on an administrative basis. I am not accepting the amendment because I would then not be able to bring the Bill to the Seanad tomorrow, but I appreciate that it is good to have transparency and reporting. We will continue with the level of reporting Deputy O'Rourke asked for last year, which we legislated for. We w…

I thank Senator Lombard for raising this matter. It gives me the opportunity to update the House on the current position regarding the additional school accommodation scheme project for St. Brogan's College, Bandon, County Cork. As the Senator will be aware, the project referred to is a building project to deliver additional accommodations at St. Brogan's College, Bandon, County Cork. The project is a large ASA project delivered in two phases. Responsibility for delivering the project has been devolved to Cork Educ…

The Department has told me that it will move on this as fast as it can. This Department of Education really has a good track record on the delivery of capital projects. I think the reason for that is because it has done so many. It has completed 950 projects in the last four years and when you do something many times you begin to get good at it. I noticed that with, for example, Transport Infrastructure Ireland. The TII has built so many motorway bridges and roads that at this stage you can kind of expect that they…