Going through the Bill, we cannot argue. Improving safety is something that we really do need, especially in the operation and maintenance of our gas networks. I have heard other Deputies mention it. The improvements are important. Protecting our citizens is one of the main things that we in this Chamber do. As Deputy Gogarty has said, however, the measures are not grappling with the elephant in the room, namely, soaring energy prices and the burden on Irish households. If any other country had the potential that Ireland has, be it offshore or onshore and the amount of sea and seabed that we have, they would seize it. We are currently bringing in other countries' national installers to do it because we do not have the capability. I understand that back in the early 2000s we had plans to develop our offshore renewable energy at a faster rate but unfortunately due to the financial crash and everything we did not and we are now years behind our EU counterparts and everyone else. The potential Ireland has needs to be seized. When it comes to the price, something we are constantly asking in the climate and energy committee is what is the delay and what is holding up this clear option for Ireland to be more energy independent. Not only could we be energy independent, but with the kind of tailwind we will be getting from offshore renewable energy we could use electrolysis to create green hydrogen. We could be supplying green hydrogen for high-energy industry. We could be supplying the growing green hydrogen market there is going to be in the EU. I am sure the Minister of State knows the UK is using a mix of green hydrogen and natural gas. It is something Ireland has huge potential in and it needs to be looked into more. I did not see much mention of it in the Bill. Energy prices have been going through the roof in the last few years and the inflation is leaving people struggling. I have hundreds of people contacting my office who are struggling with bills and the cost of living. Something we could do to help them, which I have mentioned multiple times, is to decentralise our grid, bring in private wires and bring in long duration energy storage. This would allow us to regulate our current grid like the Danish or Germans do. Something I spoke about recently, which is not mentioned in this Bill, is that those living in apartment buildings cannot use plug-in solar. The Germans have done it and it really helps struggling people. It is very simple. People can put it on the outside of their balconies and plug it directly in. The current regulations and the systems do not allow people to do that. It would really help people and it is a very cheap system. We want clean energy in Ireland - something we can be proud of that is secure, affordable, decarbonised and future-proofed, but we need to accelerate renewables. The private wires legislation is due to come to the House this year and I am looking forward to going through that Bill and working with colleagues across the House, but if we are going to reach the 80% renewable share by 2030 we need to have a Covid-level response to this. Delivery is lagging and everyone knows it. One of our greatest untapped assets, as I have already mentioned, is our offshore renewable energy resource and the planned targets of 5 GW by 2030 and 20 GW by 2040 need to be reached. The critical infrastructure Bill will, I hope, help with that but it needs to be done quickly. We do not have a national policy for it but for foreign direct investment to see we are a country to be taken seriously we need to show it this can be done and give it a good blueprint. We need to show investors we are going to take planning actions quickly. The delays are not acceptable and the gaps and grid constraints are not either. I recently visited a solar farm where the operators are turning off power due to the grid not being able to take it but we are still importing power from the UK. It makes no sense that we have solar farms turning off their power as the sun is beaming on them while we are still buying power from the UK. We have so much potential with battery storage and gravity pumps. The technology is out there but there is no urgency, there is no oomph. It is my generation who are going to be paying for this. The Minister of State knows that when you reduce energy costs that effect trickles through the entire economy, into transport and everything, and thereby brings down the cost of living. Our future energy systems cannot be tethered to the volatile gas markets and for that to be done we need to increase our offshore and onshore renewable energy. We need to get rid of the NIMBYism I see across this House and the electoral cycle thinking. These are things that are constantly said but they are true. That is why I am calling for reforms to the Bill.
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I still have time, do I not?
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Will I keep going?
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Green hydrogen is a direct form and we need frameworks that unlock investment to electrolysis facilities, as I have already mentioned. There are great academics across the country's universities but we need to be listening to them. Irish people should be proud of the country we have, proud of the grid and proud of the energy we are producing cleanly. Safety is critical and this Bill improves safety. It is a moment to rethink. Obviously I have only been in this House for the last 13 months and a lot of this stuff was done before I was a Member, but we need to rethink and challenge the interests, put Irish citizens first, bring in easier measures for people to use plug-in solar, bring in private wire systems and allow eco-villages to supply themselves off-grid to remove themselves from dependency and accelerate Ireland's energy transition in a way that is globally competitive so we can be making money for Irish citizens and not depending on other states.
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I could have kept going.
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