Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witness for the presentation. It paints a good overall picture of what the situation is. It points out some stark realities about where we are going with energy use and demand, and how we meet our obligations. The witness mentioned that solar energy was one of the cheapest options. In warmer climates it will obviously be more efficient but it has been shown that in this hemisphere a substantial amount of solar energy can be captured. In this State we have a problem getting that industry up and running. I would like the witness's views on that. It is difficult to get grid connections. The whole process of getting solar farms in place is very difficult. We have no records in regard to what the State has control over, such as public buildings. We built lots of new schools over the past five to ten years, which is good news, but the downside is that we have not put solar panels on those big flat roofs that are facing south in many cases.

We had the second-worst record in the EU for tackling climate change. Considering that we are not a heavy industrial State, from an IEA point of view, does the witness have any explanation as to why our record is so poor?

The other question the witness might address is in relation to Brexit. What kind of alternatives are there if Brexit goes the wrong way? It is likely to have some impact on our supplies of fossil fuel, which we are over-reliant on. What kind of alternatives does the witness think that we should be taking up there?

On the scenarios the witness painted, how do they correspond to our obligations under the Paris Agreement?

I know competition is slightly different from sustainability but the witness might just touch on competition in the Irish electricity market. We have the fourth-highest electricity prices in the EU 27. There is substantial competition in the market but the competition does not seem to be enough. Does the IEA have any view on how we can address that?