Timmy Dooley

In addition to our support for the renewable energy sector, particularly with wind and solar, we are also enhancing our support for biogas. The Deputy will know that the Government has a strategy on that. We will see seven or eight projects in the very near future coming into play for that biogas system through the anaerobic digestion system. We are absolutely committed to eliminating, insofar an…

I thank Deputy Stanley. From previous Oireachtas terms, I know he has shown a great interest in this particular area and championed it over that time. In total, more than €29.2 million under the EU just transition fund has been allocated to projects that are fully or partially based in County Laois. Of this, almost €3.6 million has been approved for projects under way solely within County Laois, w…

I have an extensive list, which I can share with the Deputy. If there is a necessity to meet with some of his constituents about their concerns, I am happy to meet with them. This was a call-led approach, so it was dependent on projects being brought forward to seek funding. It was not as if the Government identified specific locations and sought to create a demand around that. The programme was i…

In fairness to the Deputy, he has always made those points. I appreciate his interest in this matter. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, launched a public consultation on the development of Ireland's social climate plan last Thursday. The plan will set out measures to be financed under the EU Social Climate Fund over the period 2026 to 2032. The EU Social Climate Fund is the first EU fund devel…

I recognise the efforts many communities have made to try to assist. Deputy Stanley should please share with us if there are other viable projects or assistance is required.

The home energy upgrade loan scheme, HEULS, was launched in April 2024. It is intended to play a crucial role in helping homeowners invest in their energy upgrades to make their homes warmer, healthier and more comfortable with lower emissions and lower bills. It was developed by my Department in conjunction with the Department of Finance, Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland, SBCI, Sustainabl…

I thank the Deputy for pointing that out. That has been a feature. As we go to the air to water systems the costs are significant but the long-term rewards are real. When homes are brought up to a higher energy rating and appropriately insulated, there is a significant financial reward over time. When that is coupled with the use of solar panels, that reduces consumption in the first instance, the…

A scheme has been deployed for those most under threat of energy poverty where the entirety of the cost is recovered. That is clearly for those in low income homes, whether they be elderly or significantly dependent on social supports. The Deputy should not hold me to this but I think 25,000 homes have been upgraded in that particular sphere. That is an area that can be looked at. This will requi…

I thank Deputy McCarthy and note his interest in this important issue. The south coast designated maritime area plan, DMAP, was adopted by the Oireachtas in 2024 and designates four development areas for fixed-bottom offshore wind development. An auction process is due to commence on 22 September for the first of these areas, the so-called Tonn Nua site, with capacity for a 900 MW offshore wind fa…

I know the Deputy's interest and concern in this from conversations and consultations that I, other Ministers and the Department have had with those who will seek to build out these facilities. The next auction, as I said, will be later this year. We are hopeful there will be a number of bidders. The important thing then for those who do not win is that they see a further opportunity. One will obv…

I do not have that information available to me today but I am happy to come back to the Deputy directly with it.

Wind generation is supported mainly through the legacy renewable energy feed-in tariff, REFIT, schemes and the renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, and funded also through public service obligations, PSO. These supports are a critical enabler of the investment needed to underpin a renewables-led energy system. Over the 2025-26 PSO year, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities reports th…

The Deputy will be aware that with the passage of the national marine planning legislation back in 2021, where we introduced the approach through the designated marine area plans, the approach to identifying those sites and the approach to engaging with stakeholders in a very open and transparent way, it has worked well. Our first DMAP was launched in this House in October of last year and was not…

The Deputy has raised an important point on the environmental aspect, and the construction of certain structures can have that ability to pull together those microsystems. Part of my role in the Department is about ensuring that we meet our commitments - Deputy Whitmore will be familiar with this - in regard to the marine protected areas, an important feature and commitment that we have given to d…

We have skipped ahead. I will have to get that for the Deputy. I do not seem to have that.

I will have to get that. Does the Leas-Cheann Comhairle want to go on to the next one and I will come back to that?

There seems to be an issue with my questions here.

I may be required to do that. The Deputy has raised the important issue of-----

Yes. Nuclear fission-powered electricity generation plants are prohibited in Ireland. The use of nuclear fission for the generation of electricity in Ireland is statutorily prohibited under section 18(6) of the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. It is also of note that no action on nuclear power was included as part of the programme for Government in 2025, Securing Ireland's Future. The programme fo…

I thank both Deputies. I know of their personal interest because both of them, on many occasions, have spoken to me about the necessity to look at that. The Government has taken a decision, and it is a decision that is probably based on historical context, going back to the early seventies when there were proposals at Carnsore to build a nuclear facility and there was a very significant public out…

If you look at the capacity to generate so much electricity, particularly but not exclusively off our west coast, it far outweighs the issues around nuclear. I am also conscious-----

-----of how difficult it is, and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will appreciate this-----

-----to get permission for a wind turbine. Failing to get permission for a wind turbine and introducing a small-scale nuclear reactor-----

-----might not be that much easier.

I have outlined the Government position but that is not to suggest that others who have an interest or some ideas on this should not interrogate the information and the ideas and look into the future as to what is available elsewhere. Of course, I am sure there are educational facilities and research projects that could be engaged by those who are like-minded. From the Government's perspective it …