I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 13, inclusive, together. I attended the 2026 World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on 21 and 22 January. My attendance at the forum is a useful opportunity to exchange views on key economic matters at a platform that brings together people from enterprise, politics, academia and media. During my visit, I met with international and political leaders, including Prime Minister Mustafa of Palestine, who updated me on progress on the comprehensive plan to end the Gaza conflict and the very difficult situation in Gaza and the West Bank. We also discussed Ireland's support for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Middle East and for the de-escalation of violence and military action. I reaffirmed Ireland's commitment to adhering to the UN Charter and international law. We both agreed that the work of the United Nations, particularly UNRWA, together with other humanitarian organisations and non-governmental organisations, is essential to confront the catastrophic humanitarian situation and to deliver life-saving assistance and essential services to the civilian population in Gaza, the occupied Palestinian territory and the wider region. I also had bilateral meetings with senior representatives of multinational companies with operations in Ireland. These included Joel Kaplan, the chief global affairs officer of Meta; Apple CEO, Tim Cook; AstraZeneca chair, Michel Demaré; and Microsoft president, Brad Smith. I received updates on the progress of these companies with their respective Irish operations and their future development plans. Throughout those meetings, I reiterated the appeal of Ireland as a country to do business in, noting key initiatives such as our action plan on competitiveness and productivity, our action plan on market diversification, investment in infrastructure and our continued focus on providing an environment for world class research and innovation. IDA Ireland had a strong presence at the World Economic Forum as part of its continuing work to attract inward investment to Ireland across a range of sectors. I gave a keynote address at the annual IDA Ireland dinner event for business leaders from various sectors, including manufacturing, chemical, technology and finance. This was a useful opportunity to hear directly from leaders about their plans for the period ahead. As part of the official World Economic Forum programme I participated in a public panel entitled "Europe is Treading Water - How Can it Make Waves?" This discussion focused on European growth and competitiveness, with an exchange of views on economic challenges and opportunities for Europe. I discussed with fellow panellists the need to focus on European competitiveness during these times of geopolitical uncertainty and outlined Ireland's priorities for our forthcoming Presidency of the Council of the European Union in the second half of this year.
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I thank all the Deputies who have raised issues on this basic question, the first of whom was Deputy Boyd Barrett. Overall, it is interesting that Deputies Boyd Barrett and Murphy look at Davos through a certain prism. In terms of taxing the wealthy, the reality is that one third of tax revenue now is corporate tax. A lot of the companies I met in Davos pay huge amounts in corporate tax to the Irish Exchequer. Those are the realities-----
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As corporate tax-----
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It is one third and it underpins a lot of spending on public services. Deputy Boyd Barrett's view is to attack them. That is his view. He does not really think they have value in the Irish economy even though some of them have been here for 50 years in terms of pharmaceuticals and life sciences. Many of them have been here. Microsoft came in in 1985. I go to Davos, as do the Irish Government and the IDA, to keep identifying and profiling Ireland's proposition and position and also to advocate for Ireland to make sure there are further investments coming to Ireland and to maintain the contacts. A lot of workers in our economy are working in those companies the Deputy would like to tax out of the country. That is the reality, and that is what the Deputy is proposing. Deep down, the Deputy does not really worry too much about the workers in those companies. I have never heard anything from Deputy Boyd Barrett or Murphy in any shape, sense or form that would underpin those workers in those companies.
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I have never seen it.
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It is a very anti-worker perspective in terms of the Deputies' attitude to the companies I am talking about more generally-----
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-----and the industry and the sector.
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If I could, through the Chair, say that Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of equality. Ireland is more equal than most, actually, because of our progressive taxation system. In fact, there are a lot of people railing against that now on various platforms and media saying that we are overtaxing but Ireland is a much more equal society than others because of a progressive income tax system. On Deputy Murphy's remarks, I do not represent any billionaire class. That is just nonsense. It is stupid stuff to be articulating in here. People are really fed up with that. I just represent the country. I represent the working people of this country. I said this to the Deputy before. I remember the 1980s here when we had 17% unemployment. That is what motivates me to participate in these events and to always be hungry for more investment and more jobs in the country. I notice today the Collison brothers are in his target zone. They are his new target. They came through the Young Scientist competition many years ago as young leaving certificate students and one of them won it. They are particularly bright and able. They created a world product that is global in its reach and that is impactful. A lot of people celebrate that, and that is a very good achievement for them. They have brought back some of that investment to Ireland both in terms of the company and employment and in terms of investment in biodiversity and other projects. That is a positive. They do not have to. There are many authors of the units in the back gardens and so on.
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The humble TD has been as proactive about the back garden as the Collison brothers have. I will put it that way to him.
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It is not a new idea.
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Deputy Ó Cearúil raised an issue. I was thinking of Mourinho when the Ceann Comhairle said that.
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Deputy Ó Cearúil described himself to me as the Maradona of Kildare hurling one time but anyway. I should not be betraying private conversations but there you are. Apparently, he was. On the more serious issue of AI, we have the national AI strategy. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, as Deputy Byrne has raised, is on the skills side. The IMF said we are well positioned from a skills perspective, but AI is coming fast. There was not as big a discussion at Davos, in the events I attended. However, there have been significant discussions, particularly when I was in America in March, and some of the people that we sound out there are saying it will be very impactful, AI will change the nature of work and we need to be ready for that. We need to work on that very quickly and very effectively. There may be alternative jobs created but we have to ensure that. We have to make sure that we attract AI investments to the country as well, and at all levels, from research to skills, to basic literacy in society and to SME adopting AI. So far, a lot of SMEs are adopting AI. Our AI literacy levels are relatively high. Per capita, we have one of the most skilled AI workforces in the world. We are well positioned in many respects. The problem will be that AI will replace a lot of functions and activities and that will have an impact on employment. We are beginning to see signs of that. We need to be careful that we do not pin everything on AI in terms of some of the job announcements that we have witnessed because we also have positive job announcements. There are some very positive investments still happening.
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Okay. I was dealing with Deputy Ó Cearúil and Deputy Byrne there as well. In response to Deputy Byrne, the National Economic and Social Council came through Cabinet today. It has a very good report on AI, which we will be publishing imminently and is well worth a read. In response to Deputy McCormack, I am absolutely clear that EU membership is critical to Ireland, as is the EU Single Market. Parts of the EU Presidency will be deepening the Single Market and moving from a single market to one market is the objective. The competitiveness roadmap has been outlined by the European Council and by the Commission. It will fall to Ireland to implement many of the 17 files that they have identified as critical, from the savings and investment union to the 28th regime to enable SMEs to start up quickly across Europe. We have a lot on the agenda. We will go at it very determinedly in terms of the competitiveness agenda and in doing so, strengthen Ireland's position because we have always benefited ultimately from the Single Market, the Common Market and a one-market approach. The decoupling of gas from energy prices, to answer Deputy Whitmore, was not discussed at great length at Davos - not at the events I was at - but it is being discussed. It has been discussed over the last five years at the European Union. The Iberian Peninsula, because of the very heavy preponderance of renewables there, was in a position in some instances to decouple. We have put that to the President of the European Commission, Dr. von der Leyen. She has looked at it. It is very complex. It is not simple or straightforward. It is an issue I have raised consistently over the last number of months. Some 50% of our electricity generation is now from renewables. We are making good progress onshore but it will be some time before we get the offshore wind generation through. That is still a work in progress because if you could disconnect gas, it would help in reducing prices more generally. In response to Deputy Connolly, at these events social cohesion is always an issue, and is always something that is discussed, as is the issue of research and development and competitiveness. The other issue was the pace of change within Europe itself. There is a general view that Europe is too bureaucratic. For instance, most of the industry people I met felt that Europe was not as competitive as China, not as competitive as Asia and not as competitive as the US on many fronts, particularly on AI but also in other areas in terms of technology more generally. Some companies say they do not launch technology products in Europe and when they are doing a world launch, they exclude Europe because they feel it would be too difficult. That tells a story that should worry Europe in terms of its competitiveness. In response to Deputy McGuinness, Ireland has taken steps with Spain. The way the Deputy presents the Ireland position on the Middle East defies what actually has happened. When I met Prime Minister Mustafa, all he said to me was, "Thank you for Ireland's stance." We should listen to the Palestinian representatives and Palestinians generally, who are very appreciative of the efforts of the Irish Government and the Irish people towards their situation. I have engaged with the German Chancellor and others to try to persuade people. Germany has a particular historic perspective in respect of the Middle East and that has governed that country's position in relation to it. However, it is very strong, to be fair to it, on the humanitarian side and probably gives more than most in terms of contributions on that front. There is an issue, however, which I discussed only recently, at the Council last week, in terms of the Israeli behaviour in Gaza, but also in Lebanon. In response to Deputy Conway-Walsh on the need to diversify, I think I have covered that with Deputy Ó Cearúil. We have to remain competitive. We are attracting more AI investments into the country. There is a race on to be competitive here and there will be impacts. As Deputy Ó Cearúil said to me earlier, re-skilling and re-training will be key to it. In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, globalisation is not over. If you were a rural inhabitant of China, you might think globalisation was a good thing. Half a billion people have been lifted out of poverty in China. It is still a work in progress.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 28, inclusive, together. For compelling reasons relating to energy security, energy costs and climate change, the Government is committed to quickly reducing Ireland's reliance on fossil fuels. We are taking the necessary steps now to ensure Ireland's long-term energy security and unlocking opportunities for further economic growth. The development of a vibrant offshore wind sector is an important contributor to this objective. This task requires the collective skills and effort of the public and private sectors, working together, to make the most of this opportunity. To meet our climate and energy ambitions, Ireland had committed to initially achieving 5 GW of installed offshore wind capacity, and an aim to deliver a total of 20 GW of offshore renewable energy by 2040. The 5 GW target will be met through a combination of those phase 1 projects that succeed in securing development consent, and from future offshore projects that will be developed within the south coast designated maritime area plan. The phase 1 developer-led projects include three successful under the State's first offshore renewable energy support scheme, ORESS 1, in 2023, and an additional two projects which are seeking merchant connections through a corporate power purchase agreement. These projects have all submitted planning proposals that are with An Coimisiún Pleanála. ORESS 2 saw a shift to plan-led development, with the State's first spatial plan for offshore renewable energy, ORE, development, the south coast designated maritime area plan, DMAP, that identifies four sites off the south coast in which future ORE development will take place. In 2024, the Government's second offshore wind auction, Tonn Nua, marked another important milestone in the State's offshore renewable energy ambitions. The Tonn Nua project will contribute 900 MW towards the 5 GW installed offshore wind capacity and will save 1.87 million tonnes of CO2 annually over its anticipated 30-plus years of operation. The national designated maritime area plan for offshore wind approved by Government in 2025 will designate sites around Ireland's entire coast capable of delivering at least 15 GW of offshore wind by 2040, enabling Ireland to meet its 20 GW offshore targets. The plan is part of a programme for Government commitment to fast-track offshore wind development. This will significantly accelerate offshore wind development and will be one of the largest projects of our generation. We aim to adopt this national DMAP by the end of 2027. Following on from constructive discussions at the Government industry forum on offshore renewable energy that I hosted last July, I established the offshore wind energy clearing house. The offshore wind energy clearing house is chaired by the Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach and members include: Secretaries General from the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Climate, Energy and the Environment; Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science; and so forth; and representatives from Wind Energy Ireland, Marine Renewables Industry Association, Renewable Energy Ireland and NOW Ireland. Its first meeting was in September last year and we have had a series of meetings since.
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We did not say that.
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There is also Cork.
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Deputy Crowe opened proceedings with a heartfelt plea for the mid-west in the aftermath of having met with the Limerick Chamber of Commerce. I outlined earlier the progress that we have made in terms of auctions, planning permissions and applications that are in progress. I would be positive about this but, obviously, we have to work on the port there in terms of it being ready and capable and having capacity. A new ports strategy is being developed by the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, in respect of that. There is a strong infrastructure there, as the Deputy said, in the context of energy in the mid-west. I would be positive. Some Deputies have been overly negative, and deliberately so, for political reasons. We are making progress on offshore wind. One cannot wave a magic wand and just produce it, as some people seem to be suggesting, but a lot of progress has been made. One of the reasons we set up the clearing house was to remove obstacles and barriers that could get in the way. It is composed of Secretaries General of Departments. Representatives from Eirgrid, the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities and the National Parks and Wildlife Service and An Coimisiún Pleanála have attended meetings. They all have perspectives on this, and the industry has been brought in as well. This is the first time that the systemic issues that the industry might have are being dealt with. We put this into the programme for Government and have implemented it. Industry representatives meet with the Departments and the regulators, but not on specific projects. That is not allowed, so it is more systemic. Are there general issues that are impeding projects? How can we speed up permissions and make sure on that front, while also challenging the private sector as well in terms of making sure it will have its work done in respect of this? I have attended quite a number of the meetings, and a lot of progress is being made. It is also important to pull all of the Government together, including MARA, and make sure that everybody in the system understands that this is a national priority. That is one of the benefits of the clearing house, and the feedback has been very positive. I have to say that. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, chairs an offshore wind delivery task force. He deals with certain issues at that level and again, he has brought industry in there to make sure we can work to get this over the line. It is extremely important for the future of the country. Deputy Erin McGreehan mentioned the clearing house. She is absolutely correct that we have to move decisively away from the volatility that fossil fuels create. There has been a crisis almost decade by decade in respect of fossil fuels. A war in the Middle East or a war in Ukraine through the invasion by Russia and we have an energy crisis of one kind or another. I would point out that there are huge opportunities, which we have seen in the context of onshore wind. As I say to all Deputies, close to 50% of all or our electricity is generated by onshore wind. That was good Government policy. It was the policy of successive Fianna Fáil Governments, in the 2000s. Some Deputies decided to have a pop at us, but we created that transformation. We were not in government from 2011 to 2020.
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We were not in government for 20 years. We have been in government for the six years since 2020. There has been a significant change since 2020.
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I pay tribute to the Green Party's contribution to that as well. The three parties involved in the previous Government all contributed to moving the dial completely in the context of offshore wind. There still are a lot of challenges with offshore wind. Some of these have to do with supply chains, costs and inflation. Someone referenced the fact that the position of the United States in terms of wind energy has impacted on certain companies. In terms of HVO, I am a believer in that for transport and have discussed it with the Minister. Pepsi in Cork has rooftop solar that helps it meet about 25% of its energy needs, but it also has HVO, which reduces carbon emissions by about 70%, as well as biofuels. Deputy Ó Murchú mentioned anaerobic digestion, but Deputies on his side of the House and elsewhere will oppose anaerobic digestion.
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We are rolling it out. We have a plan. That plan has been published, but, let us be honest, it has met roadblocks from all Opposition Deputies. Politically, these are difficult issues. Onshore wind is a difficult issue, but we are all saying that we have to replace fossil fuels. There are tough political choices to be made, but there is a plan for that. We will continue to work on it. Deputy Joanna Byrne mentioned the Celtic interconnector. Overall, it is a good story. I can recall signing the contract some years back. I met Eirgrid officials informally at an event in the French embassy and they indicated that there were technical issues. I will ask Eirgrid to brief the House fully in respect of the matter. My understanding was that it would be finished next year. At the time that I met the officials, about three or four weeks ago, at the French Film Festival in Cork, which Eirgrid sponsored-----
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-----they indicated that there were difficulties of a technical nature which could delay the project somewhat. There was not a single planning objection to the interconnector because of the work that Eirgrid did in terms of meeting with communities and so forth. We will get an update in respect of the matter in order that we are all fully and properly informed in relation to it. I take the Deputy's point. The other issue on offshore wind will be the supply chain I mentioned. That is what we are testing. We are asking the private sector what its sense of that is, and we have discussed the matter with Prime Minister Starmer. There is a lot happening on the British side. We are assessing whether we can have complementarity on supply chains so that not everybody is chasing the same supplies and creating inflationary impacts and so on. Deputy O'Rourke also mentioned the clearing house. It is properly resourced, and the feedback has been both good and positive. I outlined earlier who is on it and who attends its meetings. As a result of that, there is renewed confidence now. I am hearing from industry that there is a real sense of confidence, because of the clearing house, that the Government is really driving this and trying to remove the barriers and roadblocks. In response to Deputy Heneghan, I have spoken to the Minister about plug-in solar. He is aware of the Deputy's interest in this and is very committed to it as well. The grid will be future-proofed. There is massive investment going into Eirgrid. Some €18 billion is being put in to make sure that it is ready for offshore wind. In reply to Deputy Hayes, there is urgency. He said there is no urgency, but there is. There is a huge desire to get this done. On the public ownership model, there are huge risks with such a model in terms of expertise, knowledge, know-how and all the rest of it. We might not have offshore wind for the next 20 years. We need to tease this out. That is the reality. There is enormous risk to the Exchequer in terms of such a model.
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There had been engagement with fishers and the representative organisations. I am not aware of the specifics Deputy Boyd Barrett referenced but I will check out the background to it. Deputy Murphy raised a point. I do not accept that this model would work at all. There would be a huge risk to the taxpayer. There are issues around the capacity of the public service to do it and so on. Right now, we are on a trajectory where we will have offshore wind developed. We have built up the planning capacity and MARA's capacity and certain new agencies and so on to deal with this.
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Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the Corrib gas project. The Corrib gas project has been very impactful and very successful, although everyone opposed it at the time. Sinn Féin opposed it - not the Deputy personally-----
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Sinn Féin always has an excuse to say no to something.
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The State does not do oil discoveries on its own and never has.
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Deputy Lawless raised a question about the clearing house for offshore wind, not onshore wind.
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That was the question that was tabled. On the onshore guidelines, I think the indication was that they would be produced in the autumn of next year. The Minister has done a number of planning statements on a number of issues to do with housing, which took priority, not least the planning exemptions. He is now looking at rural planning guidelines for housing also. Deputy Ó Murchú raised Cork port. It will be ready. He is not paying attention, having asked the question. We will leave it at that. He was not paying attention.
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I just did.
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