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

Both interconnectors are on track to be delivered in 2023 and 2026, as I understand. People are confident they will be delivered.

I will finally respond to Deputy Bríd Smith after which I will need to run as I have just received a note to say the press conference is starting in a minute. Farmer income is key and protecting the Irish family farm is key. My input in supporting loans for that industry was to ensure we apply conditionality on all such loans and supports. Those companies need to play their part in the decarbonisation including: scope 1, what the consumption of the product involves; scope 2, what their production system involves; and scope 3, what their suppliers are engaged in. Going on memory, the conditionality on loans relates to their own production process and the requirement for any such grant support to be based on their investing in their heat systems and environmental performance indicators. They have a role to play. They need to go green. If they are trading on an origin green brand, they need to be origin green in everything they do. Regarding that lending, my recollection is that our central involvement was in ensuring that those environmental criteria were stitched into any supports.