Mr. Tom Donnellan:

Deputy Cowen asked about Derrinlough, EPL and other assets. Derrinlough is our sole briquette factory and it is efficient. We anticipate we will continue to run it for the foreseeable future. A decision will need to be taken in 2024 or 2025, when new European regulations for factory emissions will come into force, which will require a significant investment. We will decide in 2023 or 2024 whether the investments will be made. An important part of the decision will be the impact of carbon tax on the sale of briquettes, that is, whether by 2024 or 2025, briquette sales will remain at the same level, or whether carbon tax will have diminished briquettes' status as a fuel source. We believe there will be significant demand for them, given that for 20% of housing stock in the country, solid fuel is the only way to generate heat. We have conveyed this information to the workforce at Derrinlough.

EPL, the Edenderry power plant, has a licence until 2023. It currently co-fires on biomass and peat. The biomass source is approximately 80% indigenous and locally supplied, and has grown from 60%, which was the figure on the previous occasion I appeared before the committee. Our intention is to reapply for planning, the process for which will start in the next year, to extend the life of EPL, more than likely as a biomass plant, although no final decision has been made and it could continue to co-fire.

We have many other buildings and properties, and we are working with the Land Development Agency on how some of them could be repurposed. We believe we will repurpose them for many of our new businesses. Bord na Móna was the largest coal distributor in the country but we will exit the business at the end of the year. A number of depots in various parts of the country will be sold or developed, with the money reinvested in the company.