Mr. Garrett Blaney:

I sit on the board of regulators across Europe. One of the questions we have asked as regulators at European level relates to the cost of renewable delivery across Europe. Ireland has had a fairly good track record to date. We have ended up with a lower cost because onshore wind in Ireland to date has had a much lower cost than many of the other technologies that have been applied across Europe. We have ended up paying less in percentage terms for our renewables than most places. I think Norway and Finland are better than us, but virtually every other country in Europe is paying more for its renewables. We need to be careful not to presume that more and more wind on the system is the way to go forward.

We have a role in terms of advising the Minister and have advised him to consider a least-cost approach to renewable development. That means looking at all of the possible renewable technologies and going for those that are cheapest. It may or may not result in more wind in the system.

Other technologies, such as solar power, are becoming a lot cheaper and more competitive, based on equipment prices. Our view is that we should try to do whatever entails the least cost, including the network costs. There are extra elements in the network that had to be strengthened as a result of wind in the system, notwithstanding that the support for wind in Ireland has been a lot cheaper than support for renewables elsewhere. The Deputy is correct that we have to ensure we are constantly vigilant and do not lose sight of the cost element of renewables and the infrastructure to support them, something of which we are very mindful. Obviously, renewables are a matter for the Minister and the respective Departments in Northern Ireland and the Republic. All we can do is advise Ministers of the policy. Our current advice is to try to minimise cost from a renewables point of view.