On 4 March this year, I received Government approval to proceed with the development of the State-led strategic gas emergency reserve, securing Ireland's energy system, which all would agree is essential. I will continue to take decisive action to protect Ireland's economy and citizens from the potential of a catastrophic impact on or disruption to our gas supplies. The delivery of temporary gas reserves is critical to Ireland's energy security as we continue the transition to indigenous, clean renewable energy. Crucially, the strategic gas emergency reserve will also ensure compliance with EU standards and regulation. In identifying this as the optimal approach, the Department has built upon the extensive review of the security of Ireland's gas and electricity systems published in the energy security package in November 2023. The emergency reserve will be in the form of a floating storage and regasification unit to be owned on behalf of the State by the system operator, Gas Networks Ireland, GNI. The standard approach for cost recovery for security of supply measures and investment to meet EU regulations is through the existing regulatory framework and is achieved over the lifetime of the asset. Identifying opportunities to minimise the impact of the cost on energy consumers is a key workstream of this project. GNI is now progressing the project through the relevant planning and regulatory structures. Given the risk we seek to address, all options to accelerate delivery of the project are being pursued. The final cost to deliver the strategic gas emergency reserve and cost recovery model are being assessed as we progress the project through the detailed design phase, and every effort will be made to minimise the cost to consumers. The final investment decision will be subject to Government approval and will be supported by independent assessments undertaken by the financial and commercial advisory authority, NewERA, as well as the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.
Sentiment score: 0.28
That report will be published this week. If anyone wants a briefing on it with officials, it will be available to colleagues. It is important that people understand the risks we are trying to mitigate. I restate that the programme for Government acknowledges the growing energy price and cost pressures on households and businesses and commits to bringing forward measures to contain these costs. The Government recently approved an extension of the 9% VAT rate currently applied to gas and electricity by a further six months to October 2025. That will cost an estimated €85 million and it will be looked at again in the context of the budget. My Department has established a cross-government energy affordability task force to identify, assess and implement measures that will enhance energy affordability for households and businesses. It is crucial that we do that. The focus of the task force will be on medium- and long-term structural reform measures to address high energy costs in line with the EU action plan for affordable energy.
Sentiment score: 0.17
Everyone agrees that we need substantial further investment in our grid, and price review 6 will bring that forward later this year. As part of the NDP, we are looking at other ways by which we can fund investment in our grid, which is critical to ensure we can realise the potential of more onshore and offshore renewables. Later this week, the Deputy will see a decision on the PSO, which I think will be welcomed by many. I will not pre-empt that decision but the word I have on it so far indicates it will result in a reduction in the PSO for the year to come. Ireland's energy network is different from many others. The fundamental issue is how energy prices are struck at EU level and the link to wholesale gas prices. I intend to raise that with EU colleagues at the Energy Council next week. We need a bigger and broader discussion on that as countries like Ireland expand their renewable resource. Last year, 40% of our energy was generated through renewable resources. There are many things we can do and we will work towards them.
Sentiment score: 0.22
I thank the Deputy for his timely question. He will know and acknowledge that Storm Éowyn was one of the most severe weather events to impact Ireland in recent decades. At its peak, as we are all acutely aware, including the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, and I who were dealing with it at the time - 768,000 customers were without electricity. Despite these challenges, ESB Networks restored power to most impacted customers within 72 hours. The Deputy is right, however, that many others waited for three weeks. I commend all of our teams across the country who worked extremely hard to reconnect power and communications. We must continue to strengthen the capacity of the electricity grid to withstand further extreme weather events, and a range of targeted measures are now being advanced to do just that. Following the storm, I brought forward a memo to Government on 5 February requiring the development of an ESB Networks winter 2025 grid resilience plan. This plan was approved by the Government on 8 April and set out the actions across key areas, including hazard removal and surveying, forestry management, materials and spares review, resourcing and innovation measures that will increase resilience of the electricity network for the winter ahead. Progress has been significant. Defect and hazard clearance is actively under way with additional timber contractors to be mobilised to tackle large vegetation clearance, ESBN continues to target and prioritise the inspection of the network in the worst affected areas, a lot of them in the north west, through the use of helicopter, drone and foot surveys. At the most recent energy security group meeting, ESBN presented a status update. As of 4 June, while the national programme of network inspection continues, the status of the survey regarding the prioritised portion of the network since Storm Éowyn is as follows: approximately 70% of the transmission network, or 4,994 km of 7,000 km and 98% or the 38 cabling network or 5,565 km of 5,600 km have been surveyed. I will give more information during the supplementary response.
Sentiment score: 0.16
For the Deputy's information, there needs to be more than 10 m each side of a tree in most areas.
Sentiment score: 0.00
Actually, in some instances 30 m either side are required.
Sentiment score: 0.00
It is obviously depending on the tree but I am telling the Deputy we have to work on this in a very structured way. Surveys are critically important. The whole network had never been surveyed as it has been done now. While I was in the process of telling the Deputy about the extensive survey work that is being done, a lot of clearances have happened already post storm, and the Deputy will know that from his own constituency. Three years' worth of timber was affected during the course of the storm that needed to be cleared, either having been felled by the storm or needing to be attended to. What we are doing now is, the survey work is nearly completed. This is exactly what we said we would do, by the way, as well as that we would get the winter resilience plan in place and we would have more spare capacity. That programme of additional works will be undertaken in advance of the winter. All of those corridors will not be cleared by the winter. If you look at the forested areas across the country, it is just not possible to do that so we are focusing on the worst affected areas and those most at risk.
Sentiment score: -0.02
No.
Sentiment score: -0.30
I assure the Deputy that all of us want the same thing here. I have answered Deputy Daly's question about the importance of continued and enhanced investment in our grid, in that resilience aspect and in our distribution network in particular. Our generation network was not affected as much as the distribution network because the grid in those areas was resilient, but there is a significant amount of work to be undertaken. If the Deputy has specific details, such as about the family he mentioned - I am not sure exactly where they live - I am sure they will be within the plans that are there already for clearance work and a lot of clearance work has happened already. The Deputy will understand that, as we embark upon an accelerated programme of clearance, especially of vegetation, that has to be done in a very structured way based on surveys so we can tackle the areas most at risk first. That is what is being done. As much resources as are required to go into that, through ESB Networks and through private contractors, will be supported by the Government and finance will not be an issue in this regard.
Sentiment score: 0.09
I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 and 102 together. I thank both Deputies for the questions. The latest projections from the EPA are a clear signal that, while we have made progress, we need to move faster to meet our 2030 climate targets, and that is going to be incredibly challenging and incredibly difficult. The Government is building significant momentum and the EPA's analysis will help to guide that. In particular, the next phase of the work as we accelerate delivery to meet and exceed our ambitious climate targets. Our progress in recent years provides a strong foundation for this acceleration. In 2023, for example, Ireland achieved its most substantial single-year emissions reduction on record, falling by 6.8%. This is clear evidence that policies are delivering tangible results. We are successfully demonstrating that a thriving economy and climate can go hand in hand. Since 1990, and it is important to look at where we have come from, our economy has grown dramatically and our population has increased by half. Over the period 1990 to 2005, emissions increased from 56 megatonnes to 70.2 megatonnes, but since the peak, Ireland has successfully reduced these emissions by 22% to 55 megatonnes, showing that, with a determined response, we can reverse these trends in the most challenging of circumstances. We have always known that meeting the carbon budgets and delivering the economic and societal transformation will be challenging. All of us recognise that. However, the vast majority of people in this country back climate action and we are already dealing with the effects of climate change, so this Government's mandate and resolve around climate action is unwavering. It is important to remember that Government initiatives are working and Irish people, communities and businesses are making this change. We need to accelerate and build on that momentum. It is important to recognise those efforts across Irish society. We achieved almost a 7% reduction in emissions in 2023. We are undergoing a renewables-led energy transformation. Peat is gone, coal is on the way out by the end of this month, and renewables are now the backbone of our power mix. Electricity generation from renewables has increased fivefold since 2005. A total of 40% of Ireland's electricity demand was met by renewable energy last year. This represents significant progress since 2005 when the comparable figure was 7% of our energy being generated by renewables compared with 40% last year. By 2025, Ireland has 6.5 GW of grid scale renewable electricity generation capacity, which comprises 5 GW of wind and 1.5 GW of solar. This is 13 times the 0.5 GW of solar and wind electricity infrastructure that Ireland had in 2005. We are delivering new interconnectors. The Greenlink interconnector to Britain is now operational. That doubles Ireland's interconnector capacity. The Celtic interconnector to France is on track to be completed by 2026-27. The North-South project, which is crucial, is advancing, yet delayed. These projects boost energy security and allow greater import and export of clean power. Private wires policy, which I will introduce, is designed to unlock private investment in electricity infrastructure by allowing generators to connect directly with users. This will mean quicker connections, more clean power on the ground and less strain on our national grid. The switch to electric vehicles, EVs, is accelerating. While we did not hit our target last year and it is unlikely that the target of more than 900,000 vehicles by 2030 will be hit, we will still have a significant increase. In April, there was a 23% increase in EV registrations compared to the same time last year.
Sentiment score: 0.26
Unquestionably, there are major challenges with meeting the 2030 targets. Anybody can see that from the EPA projections and previous projections. It is not hopeless though, not in any way, shape or form. I mentioned specifically energy generation because that is going to be the key and cornerstone to a reduction in dependence on fossil in particular and reducing carbon emissions while securing our energy future. The reason I have gone back to 2005 is to show that these things are possible because if we look at where we were on renewables in 2005, 7% of our energy was generated through them. It is now 40%. If I use 2018 as an example, 0.6% of energy was generated through solar. Now on a good day, it is 14%. There are improvements. There are challenges in some sectors, certainly in transport. I have referenced the fact that since 1990, our GDP has grown six times. Our population has increased by 50%. They are the realities that we are dealing with. That is a good thing. We also need to ensure that we continue to transition our fleet, particularly in public transport, and to invest in that. Last year, there were record numbers of public transport users. There were a total of 330 billion public transport user journeys right the way through the year and we can do more. It is a combination of that. On the land use review that the Deputy asked about, I am meeting Geraldine Tallon this week again. I expect that the review will be published in the coming weeks. It will be an important guide there as well. There remains issues on unallocated savings. It is about increasing the pace of change and increasing delivery. The State has not done well on offshore renewables but we have created the architecture and infrastructure to do that. Five projects off the east coast are into the further information stage in planning. A decision is to be made by An Bord Pleanála. I hope that it is responded to expeditiously. We have a major opportunity with regard to offshore renewables. We will hit aspects within our targets. The overall target is still going to be extremely challenging. It will be very difficult as outlined by the EPA, but that should ensure that we redouble our efforts to do everything we can to tackle climate change and to transition to a greener cleaner economy.
Sentiment score: 0.20
Let us look at the facts. We all agree that the targets were always going to be challenging but we are still focused on doing our level best to achieve them. Certain sectors have done significantly well. If we look at energy industries, there is a 21.6% reduction in emissions while it is 4.6% in agriculture, 7% in residential and 5.8% in industry. Transport emissions did increase marginally by 0.3% but emissions are now 4.3% below 2019 pre-Covid levels. We are seeing things going in the right direction but not fast enough. There are things that we can do. If we look at renewable energy, there is the 80% target to 2030. That is a significant target, even the EPA projection is that we will be at 68% of our energy. Let us be frank about it: the offshore projects have been delayed, probably by another 18 months, because of decisions that have been made by An Bord Pleanála. An Bord Pleanála is there to make those decisions. I am not criticising it. That is just a reality. We cannot ignore that. There is still a commitment to deliver those projects. We have got to see the offshore renewable electricity support scheme, ORESS, 1 projects delivered and in construction. We will have another auction relating to onshore energy, both wind and solar, later this year that there is significant interest in. We are a leader in Europe in onshore renewables. The same will happen with offshore renewables. It is unlikely that all those east coast wind farms will on the grid in 2030 but they should be under construction but if it is in 2031 or 2032 that they are on that will still be a good thing. If 68% to 72% of our energy is being created by renewables even by 2030, that will be significant progress. That will not hit our target but that will be going significantly in the right direction.
Sentiment score: 0.26
The programme for Government outlines the policy position regarding energy policy, housing policy, foreign direct investment growth and the many other goals and objectives of this Government. It reflects the balance between the many opportunities and challenges facing the country and the actions that will be taken over the lifetime of this Government. It recognises that increased and unprecedented investment and delivery in our grid and expanding our energy generation capacity is critical. While in the near term, already-contracted data centres will be accommodated on the grid for the medium term, the Government has committed to developing a plan that will guide the development of plan-led data centre and larger energy user infrastructure in alignment with our decarbonisation objectives and growing Ireland's knowledge-based economy and that will provide certainty for the sector over the medium term. Moreover, the electricity system operators, namely EirGrid and ESB Networks, assess the various expected future demands on the system, including in the context of economic and population growth, housing and targets relating to electric vehicles and heat pumps, as part of their network development plans. These plans will form a vital input into system operators' submission to the price review process, which sets out the level of investment required over the next five years. That is price review, PR, 6, which we have already discussed here. The CRU is currently reviewing the proposals from ESB Networks and EirGrid in terms of their investment requirements. The submissions made to the CRU propose a significant uplift to the investment required in terms of distribution and transmission to support the requirements of a growing population and economy. The exact level of this will be part of the CRU's final determination later this year. The programme for Government seeks to address the challenges of balancing energy needs by committing to scaling up investment in critical infrastructure and our electricity grid, which will be advantageous for customers and enhance the data centre and digital economy footprint to support continued foreign direct investment, FDI.
Sentiment score: 0.40
I am sure the Deputy and his party have interacted in respect of the CRU's draft statement on large energy users. There is a strategy being brought forward that is plan led rather than developer led, and that is critically important. There is no question that the number one priority for this Government is housing and continuing to increase of housing delivery. We also have to invest in our grid. It is housing, the grid and water. Three critical things we need to do over the next five years is improve our infrastructure in order to support housing delivery and FDI development. We also need to ensure that we continue to be at the cutting edge of new technologies. There is a view among some people that all data centres are bad and are not required at all in this country. Some of the largest employers and FDI investors in this country also hold their data here. It is not a question of one or the other. Unquestionably, our priority is housing. The Deputy will see from PR6 later this year the level of investment that will be in our grid for the next five years. It will be multiples of PR5, and the national development plan will further support increased investment in housing and our grid.
Sentiment score: 0.15
In the context of PR6 and the previous review, it is not a question that it is data centres first at all. PR6 takes into account Government targets and includes the connection of up to 50,000 new homes per year, up to 1 million electric vehicles and currently contracted data centre demand, which means currently contracted data centres - no new ones - and those with contracted connection agreements. There is no question of data centres or other large users gobbling up, as the Deputy says, energy instead of housing being built. That is not happening, and that will not happen under PR 6. When the CRU published the draft plan on large energy users, there was significant stakeholder engagement. The strategy into the future will be very much a plan-led approach to connection and a medium-term outlook. The focus must be and is on housing, but in parallel with that is grid investment. We will see grid investment over the course of the term of this Government like we have never seen before in order to allow us to distribute the additional energy we are creating through renewables right across our network in order that we can power more homes and more businesses throughout the country.
Sentiment score: 0.16