Ms Aoife MacEvilly:

We submitted a new strategy for the current three-year period along with a workforce plan for the CRU that is aligned with Ireland's very significant ambitions, the requirements of the new climate action plan and the urgent need to ensure security of supply. We made a very significant ask of the Department and requested 74 additional staff, an increase of nearly 60% on our current number of staff. I have never been in the position of saying that we have too many resources but we do need more. We need them in areas we have not worked in before. For example, we need a team of dedicated resources to deliver on the kind of ambition we are talking about in respect of offshore renewables. In some of the new areas we have talked about, such as hydrogen, and some that have not been mentioned, such as the regulation of district heating, about which there is some concern, we will require both new legislation to ensure there are no gaps in our functions and new resources to provide expertise we do not currently have.

The last time we were before the committee, we were asked a direct question on the consumer protection and empowerment area and our ability to do the kinds of things Dr. McGowan has mentioned, such as using the smart meters currently in place in a way that both empowers people who want to be actively engaged in delivering on climate action policy and protects customers that may not be in a position to do so. We need to expand our work in that area. We are also looking for additional resources to support security of supply. I could go on.