99. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the measures he is taking to address the high cost of energy; if he is planning to rule out categorically an additional levy on household bills to contribute to the proposed strategic emergency gas reserve; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30270/25]
Sentiment score: 0.06
It is interesting that the Minister mentioned the independent surveys and the recovery model because as he knows, Irish households are crippled by the most expensive electricity prices in Europe. Average electricity costs here are almost €1,800 per year, €350 more than the European average. The Government parties all promised they would introduce measures to help with the cost-of-living crisis when they were campaigning last November. Despite this, energy prices are 61% higher than they were in 2022. The Government has ruled out energy credits this year, saying they cannot become the norm. People are struggling, yet as part of the energy security review, the Government has suggested another levy, which would push up bills even further. When the Minister says temporary, what timeframe does he have in mind? The last time we were here, the Minister said he would publish the CEPA and GNI reports. Will he publish them? Will the Minister categorically rule out any new levy on household bills? I ask him to do so. Will he ensure that the PSO levy network charges are distributed more fairly?
Sentiment score: 0.12
There is an awful lot the Minister can do to bring down household electricity prices. The additional costs on household bills make up around 50% of the final electricity price to consumers. The programme for Government omitted any mention of network charges. It gave a vague commitment to explore funding models for the PSO to reduce bills. Is the Minister going to do that? He can tackle the regressive PSO levy on network charges now because network charges could be four times what they are now following the conclusion of price review 6. This burden could and should be distributed fairly, rather than ordinary householders being forced to bear the brunt. Grid upgrade and repair could also be financed through Exchequer funding rather than levying it on top of household bills. We also need to look at the role of the regulator, which needs to be strengthened. Is the Minister going to make these charges? Will he distribute network charges and the PSO levy to reduce the energy burden on households, if he is not going to introduce the other measures?
Sentiment score: -0.16
There will be plenty more announcements this week.
Sentiment score: 0.00
101. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is aware of the latest emissions figures as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency; the steps he is taking to address this; the contingency measures he is putting in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30271/25]
Sentiment score: 0.10
The Minister is probably aware of the latest emissions figures as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency last week. It is a stark warning. Ireland seems to have gone backwards in its climate ambition because the latest greenhouse gas emissions projections form the EPA said emissions would fall by up to 23% if every climate policy currently planned is implemented on time, down from the projection of 29% during the previous year. The gap is widening between what is achievable and what are legally binding emissions reductions.
Sentiment score: 0.02
The thrust of the question is why the slowdown and what measures exactly is the Minister taking to accelerate or redress the apparent slowdown, according to the statistics from the EPA. On the ramifications, we all know about the ecological collapse and energy independence. We know that there is a need for clean energy and to reduce the bills of consumers but the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council and the Climate Change Advisory Council have said that it could cost us up €26 billion in effective fines from the European Union. The 23% figure is based on additional measures that have yet to be identified. With the Government's plan, the best we can hope for is a reduction of 9%. What exactly are those additional measures? What are the unallocated savings? What we need from the Minister are urgent measures such as the publication of the land use review, the onshore wind energy guidelines and the marine protected areas legislation. Where are those?
Sentiment score: 0.22
The Minister hinted at electric vehicles. The EPA report emphasised not only that the plan is not working but also its unfairness. It is not being done in an inclusive way. Many people are locked out of the Government's schemes. As the Minister mentioned, we need to have hundreds of thousands more EVs to keep within the carbon budget but the grant scheme that the Government has does very little to help ordinary workers and families who cannot afford the huge price. According to the latest research, the Government scheme does not adequately support lower income households, impedes EV take-up and jeopardises the achievement of emission targets. That is reflected in the uptake where it is concentrated mostly in wealthy areas of Dublin and Cork, but working-class and rural areas are left behind. If someone can already afford a car that costs €45,000, a grant of €3,500 is not really going to cut the mustard. Will the Minister introduce tiered grants to encourage more people to access EVs?
Sentiment score: 0.23
103. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment if he is aware of recent concerns expressed by officials in his Department that policy choices would need to be made between data centre expansion for AI and housing delivery; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30272/25]
Sentiment score: 0.10
Regarding officials in his Department expressing concerns that policy choices will have to be made between data centre expansion for AI and housing delivery and the priorities relating to same, will the Minister make a statement?
Sentiment score: 0.00
Anybody who was in the House for any period earlier today will realise the priority and urgency afforded to the housing crisis. There are 15,580 people homeless. Then there is the rest, which Minister would have heard about, such as the average cost of rent being above €2,000. There is a housing emergency but instead of prioritising homes, this Government and those that preceded it have been reckless when it comes data centres. Instead of an approach that balances the energy demand from centres alongside that of other users, there is an absence of a plan. This Government is allowing the limited space on our grid to be gobbled up by data centres. The Minister's officials, including the Secretary General of the Department, have stated that policy choices need to be made between further data centre expansion and increasing housing supply. Why has the Government been blasé about these warnings? The reality is that successive Governments have failed to plan. The reason we cannot connect homes and data centres is straightforward; there is not enough capacity on the grid. What measures is the Minister taking to ensure that data centres do not gobble up all the new capacity? Will he review and reform the first-come first-served policy and mandate the CRU, which has commented on this issue, to prioritise new connections?
Sentiment score: -0.13
Does the Minister have a view on what the CRU said about mandating data centres to have a supply of electricity for themselves? Access to public infrastructure and our natural resources has been prioritised for data centres. However, the energy regulator in the Netherlands has the power to prioritise projects that identify social goals which can be prioritised for connection to the energy grid. That does not seem to be the case here. Does the Minister have an opinion on that? He must examine these measures and their applicability here. Ordinary workers and farmers cannot continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden by paying for the grid through network charges - we spoke earlier about the unfairness of how these are distributed - when data centres are being given the green light to gobble up all the new capacity that has become available in recent years. In other jurisdictions, these centres pay a larger amount towards essential infrastructure. The exact same should happen here. If the Government is serious about prioritising the construction of new housing, it must follow this path.
Sentiment score: 0.01