Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I have a few points which may have been touched on in some form but I would like a more definitive response. One is on poverty-proofing some of the things in the plan. For instance, on consumer choice in particular, perhaps particularly in rural areas, there are customers who have relied on a particular approach up to now and who may not have retrofitting in place an so on. Has the commission looked at poverty-proofing of some of its plans because choice is not available to all of us to the same extent?

One of my colleagues, I think it was Senator Dooley, mentioned LNG. There is a policy statement from the Minister and the Government on not investing in or using LNG. Will the commission let us know that it takes that on board? To what extend does the commission take on board policy statements in general on what the Government will or will not invest in, as that will be critical to us?

We must have a transition, but we must also have assurances that the decisions made will be taken on board and adhered to.

The question of regional balance was raised at a previous meeting, especially concerning some of the challenges faced regarding offsetting and balancing out electricity grid needs across the country. Is it important, therefore, to have industries that are heavily reliant on energy balanced across the regions? It is felt that more of those types of industries are situated around Dublin. I would love to know the thoughts of the witnesses on that point and the extent to which this situation may impact on the electricity grid and future energy supplies.