The current state of our country's grid and infrastructure more broadly has been a direct result of years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael neglect. Decades of under-resourcing, bad planning and mismanagement by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have left us in the mess we are in now, with the crises in housing, education and health among a slew of others. Our grid infrastructure is the energy giver to our economy. It is the lifeblood of our country and it has not been recognised as such by this Government. I welcome that after many long years of neglect, it now recognises its importance and the role it plays in the everyday operation and future development of the State. However, that does not mean that we should just ram this Bill through without proper safeguards in place, as without necessary scrutiny and amendments the Government is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. We need proper transparent planning and full accountability on the delivery of grid infrastructure to ensure we are achieving housing targets and meeting our renewable energy ambition. These are the critical projects that we need immediately to ensure our future. Instead, however, the Government has prioritised the building of data centres, which are devouring our grid capacity and directly impacting our ability to build homes. Data centres now consume over a quarter of our energy demand, according to the CSO. This is why Sinn Féin has demanded that any borrowing by Government to invest in projects must exclude grid infrastructure for connections to data centres. We have also highlighted the impact that any new investment will have on electricity prices for families. We are currently paying the highest prices in Europe for electricity and very little is being done by this Government to address this. People have now endured decades of inaction and of rolling over for energy companies, which is at the heart of this crisis. Over the last few months, Energia, Flogas, Bord Gáis Energy and SSE Airtricity have all announced double-digit increases in the cost of electricity. We are all hearing it in our constituency offices, as I am sure the Minister of State is in his. Workers and families are being hammered with soaring prices at every turn. Now they are being forced to fork out hundreds of additional euro on their bills. On top of this, the Government has cut the electricity credits that were helping many families to get over the line at Christmas. Thousands of families are now facing into a bleak winter with no respite in sight. We need to ensure that the ESB will submit annual reports detailing borrowing, project allocation and consumer price implications. If we do not, we will find ourselves in the same situation down the line without grid capacity to build the infrastructure and homes that our country desperately needs. I know we will be discussing this in the Dáil tomorrow night and I hope the Minister of State really looks at some of the amendments that Deputy Daly and I have put forward. I ask him to accept our amendments and to invest today in our future. Tógfaimid le chéile é.

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