I want to be clear from the outset that I agree with the sentiment of what the Labour Party is trying to do and I believe the frustration is real. The Minister is well aware that energy is one of my key priorities. Irish families pay too much and it is very clear that data centres are consuming an ever-increasing share of our electricity. These are facts and they do deserve to be addressed. However, I will not support the motion and there are several reasons for this. The moratorium on data centres would cost Irish jobs and the development of our country. These are real jobs, real wages and real families in my area. We cannot simultaneously say we care about the cost of living but then vote to put people's jobs at risk. Deputies in favour of the motion really need to tell their constituents that they are against section 7 of the Critical Infrastructure Bill. What would happen to the hospital in their ward, the housing development that needs a wastewater connection and the water treatment plant that every home and growing town needs? Without section 7, every one of these will be exposed to legal challenges, which we are all aware have cost the State billions. The existing legislation is consistent with the climate energy pact because the EU climate law still applies in full and the environmental impact assessment directive still applies. What section 7 does is remove the legal uncertainty. Removing section 7 will not help the climate but it will help lawyers, which I know some Deputies may have been in a previous life. The problem is not that data centres are here but that they are running on the wrong energy. Today I will introduce a Bill that is trying to fix this, and I welcome the Minister's engagement on it. It would give data centres, SMEs and community energy the ability to use renewable energy more easily. I will welcome the development and progression of the Bill. While we are talking about the cost of living, thousands of apartment dwellers are waiting for solar plug-in to be legalised. I know there is an ISO standard that needs to be removed. Will the Minister do a pilot scheme for new-build social and affordable housing, whereby solar plug-in can be installed by Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council, in conjunction with an inverter and battery, and save people money immediately?

Sentiment score: 0.15