12. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment to outline if his Department has undertaken an impact assessment of the current high cost of electricity on the Government's own electrification and decarbonisation targets; the measures that are in place to ensure that the cost of necessary grid infrastructure investment does not fall disproportionately on domestic consumers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44140/26]

Sentiment score: 0.20

38. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the steps being taken to ensure that retail electricity prices are brought to a level that makes electrification a genuinely affordable proposition for ordinary households, given the Government’s ambition to accelerate the electrification of Irish homes through heat pumps, electric vehicles, and other demand-side measures; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44139/26]

Sentiment score: 0.20

I welcome the opportunity to raise this important matter. Has the Department looked into the impact of high electricity prices in Ireland on the uptake of technology like heat pumps, electric vehicles, EVs, and home batteries that are needed to meet our decarbonisation target, and how that might impact on our 2030 targets?

Sentiment score: 0.57

Ireland has set an ambitious decarbonisation target of a 51% reduction in emissions by 2030, which is nearly full electrification of heat and transport. I heard from constituents who have recently undertaken works to electrify their homes and from others who are considering it. The price of electricity means the payback calculations, unfortunately, no longer stack up. We face a situation where, unfortunately, the technologies required to meet our reduction targets are being undermined by the cost of energy that powers them. We cannot afford to set targets and then allow market conditions to quietly hollow them out. What plans does the Minister of State have in place to ensure the public have confidence in making investments into these technologies for the future?

Sentiment score: 0.07

The electrification of our economy is the right policy direction but it will only succeed if ordinary households are not priced out of it. Ireland already has some of the highest electricity prices in Europe. The scale of grid investment required over the coming decade is enormous and there is a real concern that the cost of that infrastructure will be loaded onto domestic electricity bills through network charges. If this continues, the people we are asking to switch to EVs and heat pumps are also the people being hit hardest by the cost of investing in the infrastructure needed to support our transition to full electrification. Will the Minister of State outline clearly how the Government will ensure that the burden of grid investment is distributed fairly and does not fall unequally on the domestic consumer who it is pushing to do the right thing?

Sentiment score: 0.22

69. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport to provide an update on the basic income for the arts scheme, the number of applicants by county in tabular form; the timeline for approvals and to outline if each county will be given an equitable allocation of recipients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44127/26]

Sentiment score: 0.03

I welcome the basic income for the arts, BIA, scheme and commend the Minister on securing funding to make it permanent. This is a genuinely progressive policy and is especially important to County Clare, with our rich arts tradition, from traditional music to visual arts and literature. I ask for an update on the application process, a breakdown by county and an outline of how rural counties such as Clare will be treated equally when faced with other more populated counties and urban centres.

Sentiment score: 0.50

I thank the Minister. My question today is important. Will rural counties such as Clare receive an equal share of the BIA scheme? The randomised selection model is fair in principle as it ensures no bias in individual selection. However, fairness in process is not the same as equity of outcome. Clare has a proud professional arts community but artists in rural counties often lack access to the institutional networks, residencies and funding bodies that provide the proof of professional practice needed for the scheme. The structural disadvantage is real and will result in the pool of eligible applicants being skewed toward urban centres with large populations. Therefore, a random draw will still produce an urban-heavy result. How will this structural issue be resolved?

Sentiment score: 0.03