2026-04-16

96. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the position communicated by Ireland at EU level regarding reducing dependency on imported fossil fuels from geopolitically unstable regions; the role of his Department in EU level discussions on responding to recent disruptions in global energy markets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22801/26]

Go háirithe sna laethanta atá inniu ann, tá na rudaí atá ag tarlú timpeall an domhain thar a bheith suimiúil agus tá sé soiléir gur gá dúinn athrú an-mhór a dhéanamh ar ár gcuid fuinnimh. With the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and the risk to global security, particularly around the Strait of Hormuz, how are we positioning ourselves to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels? I have been pushing for, and I mentioned it yesterday, plug-in solar. Is there any update from the Department on allowing plug-in solar? I represent a large area of north Dublin with a lot of apartment dwellings and this will ease their energy costs.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a smaointí ar an ábhar an-tábhachtach seo. Aontaím leis go bhfuil sé fíorthábhachtach agus go gcaithfimid athruithe breise a dhéanamh ar son fuinnimh in Éirinn agus fud fad na hEorpa go háirithe. I agree with the Deputy. We need to accelerate the changes we are bringing in given the existing crisis. Ireland has been to the forefront of many of the renewable energy generation initiatives. The past ten years have been good. Last year was particularly good but we need to accelerate this further. If ever there was a reason we need to continue to reduce our dependence on the importation of fossil fuels from other states, it is now. With the Middle East crisis, we do not want to lose sight of the fact - and it know it is not lost on the Deputy, in particular - that, while we are feeling it as an economic crisis and are feeling price shocks, we also have to be very mindful that it is a humanitarian crisis. Thousands of people have been killed in this war, following on from the brutality we saw with Israel's actions, its attack on Gaza and its continued attacks on the West Bank and the whole Middle East. It is a very uncertain situation right now. I attended a virtual meeting of EU energy Ministers on 31 March to discuss an EU-wide response to rising costs caused by the conflict in the Middle East. The European Commission is due to provide additional details on specific proposals. I do not mind saying that we expected to get them last week, so the EU needs to act as a bloc. We are bringing forward changes in Ireland. We have deployed resources of about €750 million. It is still really difficult for our people but the EU response needs to be immediate in terms of what can be done at an EU-wide level. I have fed into that and I will come back to it.

Aontaím go hiomlán leis an Aire. It is definitely unprecedented but the price shock is not limited to the oil markets. It is also spreading rapidly through global gas markets in Europe and Asia. That just proves the importance. Roughly one fifth of the global LNG trade normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Qatar remains one of the cornerstone suppliers to the world's markets, which means any disruption tightens gas balances. Energy shocks also ripple into agriculture, as we have seen, beyond higher diesel prices, because natural gas and hydrocarbon liquids are key inputs in the production of fertilisers. We obviously note that this is all coming from the Strait of Hormuz but it feeds into the price of fertilisers. Can that also be looked into at EU level? Has there been any reply in relation to the plug-in solar development? I have a lot of apartment dwellers in my constituency. To install a small-scale system on balconies to reduce bills would be very welcome to the Irish people, go háirithe na laethanta seo.

Aontaím leis an Teachta arís. Next week the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, and I are meeting the EU transport Ministers. We have already taken measures in respect of our supply chains. There has been no direction or unified approach by the European Union, which is regrettable. It is also regrettable that we are still waiting for the details of the toolbox - as it is now referred to - of what the European Union can do on behalf of its citizens. That needs to be done now and I will be reflecting that. On plug-in solar, I know the Deputy has another question. Solar has expanded greatly in Ireland. Already we have 2.4 GW of solar in our system, with over 1 GW of rooftop solar as well that is not grid connected. I am very open to plug-in solar. Some safety concerns were flagged at official level but Germany and other countries deploy it well. On foot of the question that was tabled in this regard, the team in the Department is looking at this. If we can deploy more solar, then we should.

Tá sé an-mhaith go bhfuil an tAire ag rá sin, go háirithe inniu. It is a very interesting concept. If something is not safe, the Germans would not be doing it. The government there has been definitely allowing it and there has been a huge uptake of it. North Dublin, which I represent, has apartments. These apartment dwellers cannot use their rooftop. The plug-in solar systems which can be bought and installed within 15 minutes are a simple fix that would reduce their energy costs. Right now we need faster delivery of grid infrastructure and a welcome the Minister's engagement regarding private wires but, ultimately, it is about national security and affordability. One of the solutions that I am continuously shouting for, and I will continue to do so until it is done, is plug-in solar. Obviously, we can go with the private wires, long-duration energy storage, gravity storage and green hydrogen. We have so much potential and I do welcome the fact the Department is moving as fast as it is on it. I look forward to working constructively with the Minister on this matter.

I will keep the Deputy informed of the progress. We are trying to make it easier to deploy renewables. That is why the critical infrastructure legislation on bigger projects will be really important. There are things that households and communities can do. We have seen the growth, with 33,000 solar grant applications granted last year. We will accelerate that further this year, with about 73,000 retrofits. Plug-in solar is not an extremely new technology but there might have been some concerns with it. However, it is not being dismissed. I can assure the Deputy of that. We have a more detailed response on it in the written parliamentary question the Deputy has submitted. I will keep him directly informed on it. I made changes to the SEAI grants at the start of March in terms of making things more accessible for people to support. We have seen a really significant increase in applications for things like heat pumps, solar, wall cavity insulation and attic insulation as we have made it easier for people to do so. We also have to look at solar storage and battery storage in homes and at utilising our car batteries through EV and solar. I will come back to the Deputy.