Táimid i gcónaí ag caint faoin rud seo. Is é an rud ná nach bhfuilimid ag déanamh an rud is fearr gur féidir linn, go háirithe agus muid ag smaoineamh faoi curtailment and dispatch down. I have spoken about this before. One of the biggest solutions introduced by the German Government, which was a quick fix, was to allow plug-in solar. I have raised this in the Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy and was told that, in 2022, a consultation was done and plug-in solar was deemed dangerous. I have requested details on who said it was dangerous. I presume it was rooftop solar installers who would not like to lose their business. It is a simple fix for the apartment dwellers in north Dublin whom I represent. They could clearly install a system on their balconies, plug it in and have an in-built system that would reduce their energy costs. I will always give solutions. I will not just say things that can never happen. That is one thing that will help the Irish people regarding our energy security and help with surging costs. At the moment, while we have huge amounts of solar and wind energy, the grid cannot take it. The Minister of State is well aware of this. I welcome the fact that we had a meeting on this. Long-duration energy storage systems, including battery energy storage systems, gravity pumps and green hydrogen, are being established across Ireland. Dr. James Carton, who was a professor of mine, was one of the founding pushers of this and has consulted with the Government but it is not happening fast enough. At the moment, we see a mix of green hydrogen being introduced in the UK. We can establish such a system to reduce carbon emissions and also to reduce costs. If any other country had the seabed and the potential that Ireland has, it would use them to benefit its people. Before the crash, we had huge ambitions to fast-track offshore renewable energy and other renewables. Due to the crash, that all fell through. We are now getting foreign direct investment, FDI, in it but we need to do it in a way that benefits the Irish people. We need to invest more in national security. If the current energy crisis shows us anything, it is that we need to move away from being a petro-state to being an electro-state. The Germans are doing this way faster than us. We should look at the model they are employing across the board. The Irish people are screaming out for a decentralised grid. They understand that a decentralised grid reduces demand on the grid and that reducing demand on the grid reduces energy costs. In the response to a parliamentary question I recently submitted regarding the dynamics of energy costings, it was shown that, while we had higher grid input from renewables and the customer should be seeing that happening at a faster rate, they are not. The people of my constituency are screaming out for quick solutions. I hope the Minister of State will respond to my point on plug-in solar. I know a lot of countries are looking at small modular reactors to reduce the burden on their people. I will refer to the private wires Bill. The Government's private wires Bill is welcome but we do not need two regulators. The CRU should be the single sheriff in town to determine if a private wire should be allowed. That is the difference between my Bill and the Government Bill. There are other differences in amendments. I will continue to work on my Bill. I look forward to constructive engagement with the Government, which I have had so far, in this regard. It is a key priority for me and would benefit the Irish people. We cannot allow our energy to be wasted. We cannot allow solar farms in Waterford or Wexford to turn off generation at 11 a.m. and lose energy. We should use everything we can to benefit the Irish people.

Sentiment score: 0.10