I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and I will pass on his good comments in respect of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, about what is happening in the midlands and the energy transformation that is occurring. Recently, I was in Shannonbridge myself with Hanwha Energy to launch the battery storage and the condenser, which is a very novel proposal. There is no doubt that the midlands is going through a very exciting transformation. It will have very significant potential for jobs and a modern economy for the midlands that will be quite telling in terms of its impact. There is no doubt that early plant closures created an unforeseen financial shock for both Offaly and Longford county councils. These closures happened earlier than planned. Shannonbridge power station and Lanesborough power station had been expected to close in 2027 but ceased operations seven years earlier. At the time, the just transition commissioner stated it would be extremely unfair for the local authorities to bear a sudden loss of commercial rates due to a decision beyond their control. He recommended emergency support arrangements for 2021 to 2026 to offset the unexpected loss. That has happened. A total of €15 million has been provided to date with €3 million committed for 2026. Engagement is under way to manage the post-2026 transition responsibly and reasonably. The good news is that Offaly's rates base is now strengthening significantly, particularly through renewable energy investment. Government remains committed to ensuring financial stability and service continuity in affected local authorities. I can go through the various figures and there is a breakdown there year after year but it is important that we avoid a cliff edge. We should try to marry the growth in the rate base because of additional investments with the decline from the historic power stations that were important. My understanding is officials are engaging with both local authorities and are liaising with the Department of public expenditure also to deal with the post-2026 period to ensure a reasonable wind-down of supports. For the benefit of the House, Shannonbridge power station represented 18.5% of Offaly's rate base at the time. That is very significant and needed an exceptional response. Commercial rates income has now increased in 2025 and 2026 because of the new wind farms entering the rates base. I pay tribute to Bord na Móna, which itself has transformed as an organisation to become a climate-enabling organisation. It has been a tremendous transformation and that does not ever get acknowledged because people are either saying we are not doing enough on climate change or others in the House are against any notion that climate change is even happening. Bord na Móna has been a very commendable-----

Sentiment score: 0.18

Absolutely. What I would like to see happening with the energy transformation that is occurring is the resetting of the investment profile for the midlands in terms of foreign direct investment coming to the midlands in greater numbers than it has heretofore. There are some significant plants around the midlands but there is potential for more. Given the link between energy, industry and investment, some significant companies are looking at the midlands. That is very positive news all around. There is a lot of untapped potential. Notwithstanding all of the global turbulence and challenges, I am reasonably confident we can continue the momentum. I take the Deputy's point. We want to maintain existing services. By the way, if you look across the board and take out just rates, the Government has been increasing contributions to local authorities on a whole load of fronts in the past number of years. On total funding overall, if you take the €46 million allocated in 2021, the Government is now allocating €64 million to Offaly County Council. That is a big increase.

Sentiment score: 0.24