I thank the Deputy and commend him on the work he is doing on this issue. It is a particular focus for him. He identified it as a key priority for him, on his election to Dáil Éireann, and for inclusion in the programme for Government. The private wires Bill for which the Minister has received sanction from the Government is priority legislation. The intention is to publish a draft Bill in the coming months - I think prior to the summer recess - with a target that the Bill will complete its passage through the Oireachtas later this year. An detailed, expedited delivery plan will also be published. That will detail targeted, time-bound actions to swiftly operationalise the regulatory regime. The Deputy is about to publish his Bill. The Department and Minister will engage with him and examine it in detail. I believe the Minister has met the Deputy about it already. I have spoken to the Minister on a number of occasions putting the pressure on to get this Bill through because private wires will provide greater opportunities for electricity consumers and generators and will lead to increased competitiveness and sustainability. As the Deputy will be aware, the Government approved the general scheme last December. It is interesting that April was the third month in a row where more than 50% of our electricity was generated from renewables. The Deputy's point about renewables and dispatch down is significant. We are conscious of it, although battery storage is improving all the time and is increasing significantly across the country. The joint committee has undertaken pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the private wires Bill. Its report was published at the end of April. The Department is now looking at the recommendations which, perhaps, the Deputy, and others made at that committee. It is also looking at and developing the expedited delivery plan, which will set out the key actions to take forward to swiftly operationalise the regime from a regulatory perspective. The Bill, once enacted, will give the CRU powers to create the necessary regulations to oversee private wire developments, including in respect of safety and technical standards and a licensing framework. Ultimately, we want to make sure that this can contribute to customers and to the broader story in the context of complementarity with the national grid. There are issues that have to be worked out in terms of the potential interaction between private wires and the national grid.

Sentiment score: 0.22

Private wires will allow for direct connection between generation and the customer where it is more efficient to do so than connecting to the national grid. Private wires will also provide an alternative connection mechanism from renewable projects to customers. As far as I am concerned, large-scale generation can be positive as well for SMEs. I will talk to the Minister about the aspects the Deputy feels are not covered the general scheme. That is the whole purpose of his engaging with the Minister about his legislative proposals. It is also the purpose of the work of the committee in its pre-legislative consideration process, which has been completed. Private wires will create options for renewable energy developers. The development of the regime has been supported by the renewable energy sector since the public consultation in 2023. Obviously, it will also serve national climate objectives.

Sentiment score: 0.30