Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late as I had the usual clashing meetings.

The SEAI renewables report yesterday was timely and interesting in showing that the State is so far away from its targets. One figure that stood out among many is that the level of solar PD in our country is almost one fifteenth of that in Northern Ireland. There have been controversies over various energy schemes in the North. Its refit scheme might have been expensive but Northern Ireland is not exactly a solar powerhouse. That it has 15 times our volume of solar power shows how we pretty much have nothing. We are growing from nothing. This speaks to the urgency. I do not know exactly the extent of the fines the State will have to pay for missing its renewable energy targets; they depend on how much other countries exceed their targets. Has the Department an estimate as to what the State may pay in fines per percentage point. When will they kick in?

I apologise if my next question on auctions for larger-scale projects has been asked. If so, the Chairman should please stop me. I am aware there are various complexities. Getting European clearance is not easy.

Given that the State is facing large and significant fines, the delay in the auction process means it will risk missing a range of wind plants that have planning and grid connection. Surely it could be arranged to have the auction system in place early this year. That is not a small decision; it will mean missing the renewables electricity target as well as being a mile short on renewable heat and renewable transport. We have been working on this for a long time. Is there any way the auction process could be speeded up?