Mr. Paul Kenny:

I thank Deputy Dooley. We have engaged in terms of filling in consultation forms with the regulator as much as we could over the past 15 years. Some of the issues are with the regulator and some are with the network operator. We applied for a small extension of capacity in 2007 and we should get that by 2020. It will allow us to use the existing network to expand.

In March I spoke about something that was outside the regulator's control, that is, planning permission for rooftop solar panels. It is still an issue and if one wants to put one on the local community hall outside the control of the regulator, one has to go and invest in the planning permission process. It is by far the most restrictive planning policy. We put a document on the record in March and we are still in the same place. It involves one tiny line in a statutory instrument and I ask the committee members please to remove it. An Bord Pleanála sided with the lady from Limerick who appealed the requirement to take off the solar panels on her roof and won. If I go to the regulator or the network to put 50 kW or 100 kW on the roof of a GAA hall, which could be done relatively cost-effectively, I require planning permission before I can ask how much it will cost for the grid connection. I will not do it because I am not going to spend €3,000 to find out that it will cost €50,000 to connect my roof. It is outside the regulator's control but is within the control of the Oireachtas. It is a really easy change to make and we had a good discussion on the matter when Deputies visited Tipperary.