Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their contributions. My questions are largely for the Commission for Regulation of Utilities. Is there an assessed risk of a failure of the Moffat interconnectors? If so, what is it? Has the CRU optioneered alternatives to meet the n-1 standard? I noticed some reports in the Business Posta couple of weeks ago pointing towards the possibility of storage at Kinsale or Corrib, or maybe using Corrib in a different way. Has that possibility been considered and, if so, how? The elephant in the room is to what degree the CRU’s position this morning is an implicit or explicit criticism of successive Governments for their failure to deliver on the renewables potential. The CRU specifically points to the review of the planning system and states it would like that to be expedited. Are there concerns about the capacity of current infrastructure to deliver on the renewables potential? If so, to what degree?

As we have heard from various members, all of this is about managing the transition. The concern I have is that we will make decisions now that will lock us in, meaning we will not meet the targets in the time ahead. To what degree is the CRU bound by the objectives in the climate action plan and its targets? In practice, what does that mean for the CRU in terms of how it assesses, optioneers and considers different potential pathways?