Hear, hear.

Sentiment score: 0.00

I thank Deputy Smith for raising this important matter. The Bill to which he refers, the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2025, is being progressed by my Department as part of a wider programme of work to strengthen the resilience of Ireland's electricity network in the context of climate change and increasingly severe storms. Lessons have and must continue to be learned from Storm Éowyn. We have seen significant work done in relation to the clearing of forestry corridors and debris. That work is under way. The overarching objective is to ensure that overhead electricity networks and forestry can coexist in a manner that delivers a secure, reliable and climate-resilient electricity supply for homes, businesses and communities. The Bill will make provisions for a number of amendments, which include enhanced proactive vegetation management measures to protect the electricity network, including powers to clear vegetation likely to interfere with the network; the establishment and maintenance of forestry corridors to improve resilience and operational safety for the network; and statutory regulation of future forestry planting in proximity to the electricity network. The Bill is informed by lessons learned from Storm Éowyn and other severe weather events where we have seen specific vulnerabilities in parts of the country. The proposed legislation seeks to provide a clear statutory framework to facilitate the proactive management of vegetation and forestry risks, while balancing environmental considerations, forestry interests and the rights of landowners. That is under way while, as the Deputy has recognised, we are investing in critical grid infrastructure across the country. The updated draft heads of Bill are currently being revised and the team in my Department continues to engage, as a matter of priority, with stakeholders, in particular the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, but also ESB Networks, forestry representatives, landowner organisations and the Office of the Attorney General.

Sentiment score: 0.19

I agree with the Deputy. This is a priority. It needs to move quicker but there are a lot of stakeholders. To be frank about it, this is being made more complex than it should be because we are respecting the views of other stakeholders. We need to ensure the regulatory changes needed for new forestry are in place because the State is not going to be able to, nor should it, manage every private forest or private piece of land in the country. The State should not pay for it all either. The agreement with the Irish Farmers Association that was in place, which was a relatively loose agreement on forestry management, needs to be updated and put in legislation. We are operating under the 1927 Act and grey areas have been identified with respect to right of access. We are bottoming those out now. I met my team earlier this week. We are dependent on other stakeholders and Departments to work with us, which they are doing, but this needs to be done really quickly. I share the Deputy's sense of frustration with the pace heretofore but I assure him the legislation is being afforded priority. We need to get it done.

Sentiment score: 0.22

Absolutely.

Sentiment score: 0.00

The work of our emergency services is exceptional. We saw the difficulties they had to operate under following recent storms, including Storm Chandra and Storm Éowyn. This work needs to be concluded. There is complexity in it. I hate even using the word because it seems like it is an excuse, but there is genuine complexity here. It involves updating legislation but also updating the operation and management of forestry. I agree with the Deputy completely that forestry owners have an absolute responsibility. That is why we need to get agreement now that we want re-afforestation across the country, with forests planted and maintained in such a way that we do not create a problem further down the road. We have nearly concluded that work and I will be convening stakeholders again in the next week or so. I expect to bring heads of Bill back to the Government well in advance of the summer recess. I completely understand the urgency of this legislation and I will keep the Deputy directly informed. I am aware of the impact this issue has had on areas of the country where there are large amounts of forestry, including the Deputy's area. Some of that forestry has not been managed or managed appropriately. I will keep him directly informed.

Sentiment score: 0.03

Five phase 1 offshore projects are currently in planning, as the Deputy will be aware, off our east coast, with planned capacity of 3.8 GW. All five have submitted planning applications and first determinations from An Coimisiún Pleanála are anticipated on at least two of these by the end of this year, with the others to follow in 2027. The reason for that is they received detailed requests for further information, particularly around bird surveys. Subject to planning approval, I anticipate that some of these projects will be in construction by 2030. I do not see any of them being electrified, although there is the possibility of one, with a fair wind, if the Deputy will excuse the pun. I have said that publicly. Our focus is in getting them into construction and operational by the early 2030s. We also have the 900 MW Tonn Nua project off the coast of Waterford. It was the only successful auction in the EU. If Britain is included as part of the European Continent, it was one of only two, along with allocation round 7, AR7. I expect that to be energised in 2033. Tonn Nua was the first of four sites to be brought to auction from the south coast designated maritime area plan, DMAP. We are making preparations to bring the remaining three south coast DMAP sites to auction over the coming period. Separately, we are in the middle of the national DMAP process, that is, mapping our full maritime area to build that pipeline of sites into the future to be able to continue with regular auctions. That is to facilitate a further 20 GW. I am not being evasive but I cannot say this we will have in 2030, 2032 or beyond. Suffice it to say, it is getting these ones out of planning and getting the phase 1 ones into construction. Tonn Nua is now done. I want to move on Lí Ban, for an auction there, and then conclude the national DMAP work by 2027, which is what we said we would do.

Sentiment score: 0.08

To be fair, on the Deputy's first point, that is acknowledge by what was then An Bord Pleanála and is now An Coimisiún Pleanála. Certainly, those were the first type of projects that they ever had to deal with. I agree there are learnings and they have learnt from them. Second, the planning environment is different now. New applications will come under the Planning and Development Act 2024, which sets strict timelines on planning decisions and sets timelines around requests for further information and how often further information can be requested. In short, that will improve the situation. In relation to resources, I can tell the Deputy, given my previous portfolio, that we have increased resources in An Coimisiún Pleanála by over 50% and we have restructured an coimisiún. An coimisiún is meeting approximately 90% of its targets. I commend the officials on the work they are doing. The decisions are coming out quicker and more efficiently. The Deputy made a very fair point. Tthese were large projects that had not been seen in the planning system previously. The learnings from them have been acknowledged. With the new planning Act, I expect that planning for new offshore wind projects will go through much quicker and much more efficiently.

Sentiment score: 0.25

Ports will be critical. In the coming couple of weeks, certainly before the recess, we will be bringing the new national ports policy to Cabinet. A lot of work has gone into it, and fed in by stakeholders as well. The east coast will be very important on that. That will come to Cabinet and then we will publish it. That will go out for consultation and every party and all stakeholders will get to see it. Right now, Belfast is the only port that one could say will be able to carry out both. Belfast will be important to the island of Ireland and I see it being utilised. Cork is well advanced as well. I have visited the Port of Cork on a number of occasions. There has been really good work on the extension of piers, and good assistance from the European Union in that regard. I agree we need to increase port capacity for construction but also, really importantly, as the Deputy mentioned, for the maintenance that will be required. I see we will be ready. The Port of Cork has moved forward. I see Belfast as part of our offering as well and part of that solution, and, indeed, other ports that may come forward as well.

Sentiment score: 0.29

We have discussed a number of measures this morning, including directly funded retrofitting for families and the grants we can provide to reduce energy usage. Those measures are good for our climate because they reduce emissions and they reduce costs for households. We have been able to retrofit approximately 264,000 homes so far. Earlier this year, the Minister of State and I, along with our team, looked at the grants that were available and broke them down to make them more accessible, particularly for middle-income families. In the first quarter of this year, there were more than 50,000 applications for home retrofitting. We need to support that because it takes pressure off our energy system. It is good as well because we are pointing families and householders in the direction of renewable energy. Over 120,000 homes now have rooftop solar systems. Those grants have been increased, as have heat pump grants. The focus on rural areas, which the Deputy mentioned, is critical. We have brought forward things to be able to break down the grants, like attic insulation or cavity walls, which can be done separately. The windows and doors grants were also not available before unless you retrofitted your whole home. To be frank, many people could not afford to do that, even though the grants were substantial because these still needed to be matched with substantial funding. That is why we have broken them down. We have had over 8,000 applications for that grant alone, based on the last numbers I had, in just a two-month period. These are practical measures we are taking for people. On the business side of things, we had 5,000 business retrofitting grants approved. We need to focus a lot more of our resources in that space because it protects people against future price shocks. When people get retrofitting done, their energy bills come down and they are protected against future shocks. They are also pivoting towards renewables and we are making good progress there.

Sentiment score: 0.23

On the warmer homes scheme, and I listened to the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's intervention on that, approximately 34,000 homes have been fully retrofitted with 100% grants. It is a great scheme, but waiting times are too long. To be fair to the SEAI, as Deputy Murphy said, it has submitted an action plan. I have a meeting later this afternoon in that regard to see how we can speed that up. We have made two specific changes for people on the warmer homes waiting list who can now access certain grants, which will not affect them while they are waiting for the overall grant. We are also retrofitting social homes at a level that has never been seen before, which is also a good thing. This protects those at risk of energy poverty, it is good for the climate and good for their pocket, as well as being good for our energy system. I will keep Members informed on this. I have a further meeting this afternoon with the team specifically relating to the SEAI action plan.

Sentiment score: 0.36

The meat of that report will feed into our budget considerations and deliberations. I expect to have that by the end of July this year. We have done a lot of work on it. It looks at some potential structural changes and short-, medium- and longer-term measures, as well as further improving measures that are in place. We know we are not in the position we want to be in with regard to energy costs. That is why it is so important that we accelerate delivery of renewables across the board and reduce our dependence on wholesale fossil fuel markets. Fundamentally, that is the major problem we face. The figures out today do not deal with long-term systemic arrears. They are arrears from day one to post-90 days, so the figures themselves need to be interrogated more. However, anyone who does find themselves in arrears should make contact with their energy provider. Plans are there and will be put in place to help households. The last thing anyone wants, and I have said this to energy providers, is for people to be cut off from the energy they need. People should engage with their providers. I thank the Deputy for his support.

Sentiment score: 0.17