I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “(2) To insert new subsections after subsection (4): “(4A) The Board shall borrow to invest in projects on the basis of a prioritisation framework which encompasses— (a) congestion softeners in areas of high congestion, (b) security encompassing hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment, (c) basic needs encompassing residential constuction, (d) exceptional cases of public interest, and will exclude grid infrastructure upgrades or connections for data centres. (4B) The Board shall, within 6 months of the commencement of this Act and annually thereafter, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report detailing: (a) the amount borrowed under section 4(4) of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954; (b) the purposes for which such borrowing was applied including a breakdown of project type; (c) the projected borrowing required for the next year including a breakdown of project type; (d) the impact on consumer electricity prices; (e) the report shall be subject to review by the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts. (4C) The Board shall ensure that any borrowing under this Act does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments, and shall publish an annual statement confirming compliance to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.”.”. Due to decades of underinvestment, our energy system is not fit for purpose. With rip-off costs and a regressive approach to financing, our electricity grid is another in a long line of Government failures. It has been plagued by critical infrastructure deficits. Millions of euro have been wasted in renewable energy every year, driving up the cost of energy. One of the current members of Government described the Government's approach in recent years as navel-gazing and sitting on their hands. It has also stopped people moving into their homes. The need for urgent action and investment in the grid is clear. This amendment relates to a series of Acts going back to 1954. It concerns the framework that will guide the borrowing capacity of the ESB into the future. It is, of course, the State-owned agency but it should be mandated with a focus on the common good. It will seek to safeguard against future investment in and development on the grid that may repeat the mistakes of the past, which we do not want to do. The grid needs upgrading at present and while Sinn Féin is totally in favour of increased investment in the grid, it must be done in a way that covers and supports ordinary workers and families and works for the common good of people in the State. A grid that is fit for purpose is a linchpin of many of our priorities. Of course, we want to solve the housing crisis, end the energy rip-off, bring down prices for good and create an energy market that is based on a fair funding model in which energy is treated as a public good, as I have said. Amendment No. 1 proposes three subsections. Subsection (4A) mandates that the increased borrowing capacity of the ESB from €12 billion to €17 billion is targeted towards the public good rather than being gobbled up by data centres. The increased borrowing capacity will allow the ESB to access the capital required to fulfil the investment required in the network as outlined in the draft decision in price review 6, PR6, a final determination on which is due towards the end of this year. Grid capacity in recent years has been gobbled up by data centres and other key strategic priorities such as housing are suffering as a result. As ESB Networks itself warned against this in a recent appearance at the committee, Sinn Féin wants to ensure that the enhanced investment is targeted towards the social good rather than corporate interests. The prioritisation framework is modelled on the Dutch authority for consumers and markets, ACM, model, which refers to congestion softeners, security encompassing Garda stations, hospitals and wastewater treatment, basic needs, including residential construction, and exceptional cases of public interest. It excludes connections for data centres. They are not a priority in contrast to the priority for the need for housing. Our amendment inserts the new subsections to include the congestion softeners in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d), and proposes that within six months of the commencement of this Act a report would be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas detailing the amount borrowed under section 4(4) of the Act of 2001, the purposes for it, the projected borrowing required for next year including a breakdown of project type and the impact on consumer electricity prices. That is vitally important in a time where we have seen the supports ripped away. Even though prices on the wholesale energy markets have been reduced by 70% over the last three years, electricity bills have increased by around the same amount. We must also ensure that borrowing under this Act does not result, as I said, in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments. There should be published an annual statement confirming compliance, and that would be laid before the Houses. Subsection (4B) enhances the transparency, accountability and oversight which, of course, is necessary. This lack of oversight was recently highlighted in the Bill's digest. Subsection (4C), as I have said, ensures that it does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs.

Sentiment score: 0.20

I will come back in regarding a number of matters. One relates to what the Minister said about PR 6. While I appreciate that what was published during the summer is a draft decision, that is all we have to go on at the moment. We do not fully know what will be there but under the CRU's draft decision, households and SMEs will see their electricity network charges increase, while large energy users, such as data centres, will see reductions of up to 18%. It also stated that the grid upgrades are being driven in part by growing electricity demands from the same data centres, whose usage has increased by 400% since 2015. In effect, the entities that are driving the increased need for grid investment will be asked to contribute less while the public pays more. Amendment No. 2, which the Minister dealt with, involves direct State investment, or money that is taken from the State coffers, in order to finance improvements that are needed. While there is overlap between the two amendments, this is more important because it relates to the investment from the Central Fund. As noted by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, the Bill as drafted provides for the relevant authorisation of funds totalling €1.5 billion. There is no other mechanism to ensure Oireachtas oversight or control of the use of money from the Central Fund for the purchase of capital stock. Our amendment deals with a prioritisation framework, which has been done in other countries, notably, the Netherlands. It will include security, which includes hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment because it is important the structures are put in place. There has been a lot of talk recently about wastewater treatment systems around the State, or the lack of them. It is also about housing, where people who have made agreements to go into their homes have not been able to do so because the connections have not been there. It also prioritises the basic needs of residential construction and exceptional cases of public interest, as I mentioned, which also relate to the previous amendment. The amendment also states: (10) The Board shall, within 6 months of the commencement of this Act and annually thereafter, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report detailing: (a) the purposes for which the payment was applied [so necessary oversight] including a breakdown of project type; (b) the purposes for which the pay will be applied in the next year including a breakdown of project type; (c) the impact [if any] on consumer electricity prices; the report shall be subject to review by the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts. (11) The Board will ensure that any borrowing under this Act does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments, and shall publish an annual statement confirming compliance to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.”.”. While we agree with the need for more borrowing and we agree that there should be more investment in the grid, this should be done with some safeguards in place because we do not believe that they have been in place. The priorities are not there and there should be a prioritisation framework. Amendment No. 2 addresses this issue in the Bill. I accept that the committee agreed to waive pre-legislative scrutiny even though there was opposition to that. It is now ten months since Storm Éowyn took place and it was a bit rich of the Government to come in to say that it needed to do it all in a hurry when the Bill was not published until the middle of the summer. We are now being pushed into a corner with the suggestion that there is a panic that we have to do it all in a hurry. We should be getting it right before we agree to all of the legislation without what we feel are necessary amendments. Due to the constraints on the grid, there has been a history of failing to plan properly and treating affordability as an afterthought. Since June, there have been a series of energy bill hikes from various companies. One even increased its bills on two occasions. The corporate balance sheet certainly seems to have been the priority. Checks and balances need to be put in place particularly through the provisions of amendment No. 2 where we feel that public investment should be delivering for the public good. I know that the €1.5 billion was announced in the revised NDP in July. When it was announced, the Government said that it would be targeted at expanding onshore and offshore capacity and the distribution network infrastructure. Our amendments, particularly amendment No. 2, seek to ensure that this is the case and that past mistakes are not repeated.

Sentiment score: 0.15

I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, lines 32 to 36, to delete all words from and including “and” in line 32 down to and including line 36 and substitute the following: “ “(c) up to such amount as will enable such employees or trustees to maintain the same percentage of capital stock they held of the total capital stock issued by the Board that they held immediately before the relevant stock was issued, and (d) the approved scheme shall be subject to independent audit and the findings shall be published within 3 months of completion. (8) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting the sale or transfer of capital stock to any person other than: (a) the Ministers specified in subsection (5); (b) employees of the Board or trustees on their behalf under an approved scheme; any future proposal to alter this arrangement shall require prior approval by resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas. (9) The Board may only use this payment to invest in projects that have been identified as part of a prioritisation framework which encompasses— (a) congestion softeners in areas of high congestion, (b) security encompassing hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment, (c) basic needs encompassing residential construction, (d) exceptional cases of public interest, and will exclude grid infrastructure upgrades or connections for data centres. (10) The Board shall, within 6 months of the commencement of this Act and annually thereafter, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report detailing: (a) the purposes for which the payment was applied including a breakdown of project type; (b) the purposes for which the pay will be applied in the next year including a breakdown of project type; (c) the impact on consumer electricity prices; the report shall be subject to review by the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts. (11) The Board will ensure that any borrowing under this Act does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments, and shall publish an annual statement confirming compliance to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.”.”.

Sentiment score: 0.41