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ambit. It is the right thing to do from a climate change perspective. It is the right thing to do from an energy security perspective. It is the right thing to do for our citizens and businesses into the future, from the perspective of competitiveness. It guarantees … that we are all aligned on renewables but to get renewables at scale and reach the capacity to power our economy when the wind is not blowing or the sun is not shining, we need something else to power our electricity generation. We will require greater amounts

practical plan and something that we need to implement in order to reach our environmental targets and help people throughout the country with energy costs. What we see is that only people with additional incomes are able to afford solar panels. Solar panels are so easy to install … cliff edge there, you will nearly be blown over. I am really at a loss as to why we do not use that wind power to power our schools, homes, businesses and hospitals. Every day, I am contacted by families worried about costs. As education spokesperson, I really

take over a billion euro out of the State finances. This is money that could be used to build houses, hospitals and wind farms. The Government is playing fast and loose with Ireland's future just to keep its friends in the golden circle happy in the present … research and development. This budget has been a series of bad choices and missed opportunities. The Government could have backed families struggling with energy bills, abolished the means test for carers, introduced a cost-of-disability payment, reduced childcare costs and lifted 40,000 children out of poverty

brainless idea when states like Germany, Italy and Lithuania decommissioned nuclear power a long time ago. Belgium, Spain, Switzerland and others are actively winding down nuclear power because they know it is not the power source of the future, but the power source of the past. What … offering a €100 credit. Yes, it is blunt but at least it will help people right now. We are proposing targeted energy credits for households that are struggling to pay their energy bills. All the Government says in opposition to this is that people should contact their energy

ultimately, you reduce the amount of electricity used. We have to be in control of our own data because there are other energy-rich countries that would be delighted to have the opportunity to store European data. If we do not get our act together, somebody will steal … course, we have to build houses, etc. I am all for advancing what we have to do in regard to offshore and wind. We must of course recognise that gas will be an important transition fuel as we move towards renewables, but we have

post-2026 transition responsibly and reasonably. The good news is that Offaly's rates base is now strengthening significantly, particularly through renewable energy investment. Government remains committed to ensuring financial stability and service continuity in affected local authorities. I can go through the various figures and there … local authorities and are liaising with the Department of public expenditure also to deal with the post-2026 period to ensure a reasonable wind-down of supports. For the benefit of the House, Shannonbridge power station represented 18.5% of Offaly's rate base at the time. That

figure is above 20% and the CRU projects it will hit 30% by the early 2030s. Data centres will soon consume the equivalent energy of every household in the country, urban and rural combined. Our electricity grid is struggling to keep up. For that reason, the Government … also absorbing almost all of Ireland's new renewable electricity. Research by Professor Hannah Daly of UCC shows that as soon as new wind or solar comes online, data centre demand soaks it up, leaving little scope to decarbonise transport, heating or industry. We are currently miles

That was a long-winded way of the Taoiseach saying that he will not condemn the breach of international law. We can all agree that the UN is not perfect but it is the best that we have got. The Taoiseach should be doing much more … foremost, the people of the Middle East will suffer as a result of this illegal war but the effects will be global. Energy companies are already cynically capitalising on this crisis with blatant price-gouging. We have had reports of the price of home heating oil skyrocketing, which

reduces the risk of stranded assets, does not stimulate additional gas demand and it is compatible with our binding climate targets. This is energy security and climate responsibility working together, not against one another. I also welcome the accelerated consenting framework in the Bill. The conventional planning route … fossil fuels and renewables; it is both, sequenced properly. I want to see us go faster on solar and far faster on offshore wind. The Minister of State is aware of my promotion of those renewables. Our offshore wind potential is among the best in Europe

allowing for more of these applications to come forward. Five or six of them are live in Galway East right now for wind farms, and there are proposals coming forward for solar also. Consideration definitely needs to be given to the appropriateness of different sections of land … late to react to the planning applications that are in today. We need to move at speed in dealing with the proliferation of energy projects in Galway East

Government. These contain measurable actions to improve the resilience of key sectors over the next five years. The Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment holds the responsibility for the NAF and the electricity and gas network sectoral adaptation plans. The other sectors are the responsibility … solutions be utilised where appropriate to improve resilience to climate impact. Nature-based solutions can build reliance into the priority risks that extreme wind and heat identified in the EPA's national climate change risk report published in June last year

transition to renewables is critical. The Minister of State knows that I strongly support all of the investment that we are seeing in wind and solar, and I want it to happen much more quickly. The question is around future capacity, when we are looking … considered. I accept this is not something that is going to happen immediately, but when we are looking at Ireland's future energy needs going to 2040 and 2050, this green technology, which it is, has to be part of the discussion

centres to seek connection to the electricity system that addresses the security of electricity supplies and risks system constraints and promotes the renewable energy target. To address the climate crisis, work is progressing right across Government to implement climate mitigation measures. We are focusing on actions that will … electricity in February, March and April coming from renewable sources. Ireland consistently has over eight gigawatts of renewable generation capacity with onshore wind the largest contributor to this. To facilitate further renewable connections and overall growth, Government approval was received in July for a €3.5 billion investment

remarkable litany of record-breaking climate events in the 12 months since COP29 in Azerbaijan, including Storm Éowyn which brought the strongest wind gusts ever recorded in Ireland and the highest storm surges on the western seaboard. We saw the damage that Storm Bram caused last week … protect at least 30% of land and oceans by 2030. The second thematic session took the form of a panel discussion on "Energy transition and ten years of the Paris Agreement: NDCs and financing". I expressed Ireland’s commitment to ensuring a just and inclusive energy transition pathway

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 … 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

past is the past; what people are worried about is the here and now. The stories I am hearing about the cost of energy would frighten you, such as older people trying to heat their homes or people who are trying to do the best they can with … should be looking at nuclear power. We should not be afraid to debate that. There are huge problems with the legislation regarding wind farms

shed at the national maternity hospital. When I first heard this, I thought somebody was having me on - I thought it was a wind-up - but no, there it is on the Government e-tenders website. Is this really the best use of taxpayers' money when there … continues to squander their hard-earned money. Government throws away millions of euro in public money but at the same time will remove energy credits from households in the budget. The Government does nothing to tackle the rip-off or take on companies that are gouging customers

help people out. The Government has been found out trying to con the people with more than 320,000 families already in energy arrears. This legislation looks to protect more than 750,000 households that rely on home heating oil by reducing the price by a whopping … introduce proper measures that we have handed to it to protect those using home heating oil and invest out in solar and wind to protect families from future actions by warmongers

example, the only port capable of handling offshore wind on this island is in Belfast, but it is being used to develop offshore wind in Britain rather than on this island. Canvassing in Irvinestown in the most recent Assembly election showed me that the issues are the same … certain issues like legacy is not going to help us get anywhere. From an environmental point of view, just transition, the environment, renewable energy and proper public transport should be the cause of Ireland, just as the cause of Ireland should be the environment, climate and transport. Ireland

wrong reasons in terms of the price of electricity. Barnardos has found that one third of Irish households went into arrears on energy bills in the past 12 months. That is astounding. According to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, 500,000 Irish households are in arrears … incentivising are sucking up all available electricity. We have bottlenecks, constraints and dispatch down notices, which mean we are now actually paying for wind farms in Ireland to switch off electricity output. It is mind-bending stuff. We are paying for electricity companies not to produce electricity

that are threadbare. We have soaring levels of child poverty. We have a cost-of-living crisis that is escalating and we have energy and water infrastructure that is crumbling. The reality is this Government is an epic waster. It has wasted time, opportunity and a generational opportunity … will run out of capacity for new homes in Dublin in three years' time, we are on course to have zero off-shore wind generation by 2030 and our electricity grid is on the verge of collapse. Fine Gael has been in government for 14 years. I know

widespread Red and Orange weather warnings were issued across Ireland and the UK ahead of the rapidly strengthening storm; Ireland experienced gale/storm force winds, including severe damaging and destructive gusts of over 183 kilometres per hour, a record for Ireland; and this unprecedented storm caused extensive damage … will continue to co-ordinate intensive efforts to restore power, telecommunications and broadband connectivity to those who continue to experience outages; — specific energy-related actions have been prioritised to be delivered once the initial storm response has been completed: — an enhanced Winter 2025 Grid Resilience Plan; — a full

doing all I can in that space. We have a number of courses in plumbing, electrical, heat pump installation, site supervision, offshore wind turbine maintenance and many others. There is also the adoption more widely of MMC. Specialist and technical skills are very important but other skills … under the green skills agenda, is making sure that the workforce is equipped to deliver the retrofit programmes and the next generation of energy efficient homes, and of course to take the full opportunity that renewable energy presents to us here in Ireland

justify why a staggering two thirds of applications for supports have been rejected, some without explanation? Will he explain why he attempted to wind up the scheme without a public announcement? Will he outline why only €6.8 million has been paid out in response … expansion of the scheme to businesses and farmers. We reiterate those calls tonight. The devastation was compounded by the failures to build an energy infrastructure fit for purpose over the years. Power outages are not rare in my constituency of Kerry. One resident has had 20 power cuts

subgroups, on humanitarian assistance and on critical infrastructure and essential services, have been formed, with membership drawn from across Departments, utility and energy suppliers, principal response agencies, the transport sector and local authorities. It is expected that the review will be brought to the Government shortly. The recommendations … first few days as Minister for agriculture. I saw at first hand a dairy farm that had its power lines flattened by wind-blown trees from a plantation nearby. The farmer was able to continue to operate because of a PTO-driven generator. I recognised the importance