Ms Aoife MacEvilly:

I will kick off briefly on that. First, we are accountable to this committee and to the relevant committee with responsibility for matters relating to water. We are statutorily independent in the conduct of our functions and decision-making. As a result, we do not seek or take directions from any entity or person. We very much take on board, and have done in the past, the input, feedback and views of the committee. That is why we have invited its feedback on this. As I said, we work within an overarching policy framework. We do not set policy but we are independent in our decision-making.

As Mr. Gannon outlined, we have specific statutory functions to ensure security of supply. Again, we work within an overarching national and EU policy and legislative framework on that. We also work closely with Eirgrid, which also has specific functions in this regard, particularly in our monitoring and reporting.

Regarding electricity prices, we have seen some underlying increases in wholesale costs, which Mr. Gannon may come in on. In terms of the role of gas, I reiterate to the committee the statement we have made. Natural gas is essential to security of supply and to the secure decarbonisation of the energy sector to 2030 and beyond. We completely appreciate the view that we should not be investing in infrastructure and generation capacity that does not have a longevity beyond that point. This is why we see the decarbonising of gas as supporting that. We are already working on it. We have not mentioned biomethane, for example. We have the first inputs of renewable gas onto the system at the moment.

That is an option which has great potential in Ireland. We will see some of that in the climate action plan. We are also looking to the role of hydrogen. The reality is that it is not a cheap alternative at the moment. The price will come down over time but we are not in a position to say we can instantly switch to hydrogen or green hydrogen overnight. From a safety and quality perspective, we must work through the extent to which we can blend green hydrogen or other colours of hydrogen, if you like, with our gas network in a manner that is safe, as well as ensuring a least-cost outcome. I will hand over to Mr. Gannon who will pick up on some of the points I have made.