Mr. Mark Foley:

I have two comments in response to Deputy Bríd Smith. I made a comment, which I stand over, to the effect that, in the round, I do not deem 9% growth in electricity demand over the last five years exceptional for the type of economy we have. We should have been able to accommodate that. If we had gas generation, we would not be having this conversation today. That is a simple statement of fact.

To the Deputy's second point, in which she attributed remarks to me from last year, I am looking at my statement from last year. Our job is to plan the system looking forward and to advise on what is needed. We do not decide policy. Our job is to deliver on Government policy. The statement we made last year was that, on the basis of the data we had in front of us, we saw an increase and growth in demand for electricity over the next decade of the order of 28% to 30%. That comprises demand from industry, electric vehicles, homes converting to electricity-based heating and general economic growth.

That is the analysis we have done. We do not create the numbers; we look at what is in front of us and report that. We use that as a basis to inform how we plan the system on the generation and grid sides. Our job is not to challenge or question Government policy, but rather to figure out how we can bring effect to Government policy.

What we said in last year's statement is that this is deliverable if we have the gas generation we spoke about. If we bring the gas generation we spoke about on board, as well as onshore wind, offshore wind and solar, and EirGrid delivers the grid, we can deliver the gigawatts, as set out in my colleague's report on shaping our electricity future. This is a deliverable proposition but we all need to get behind it. The prize is a power system with 80% renewables in 2030, as set out in the climate action plan. Our job is to put all of these things together, rather than to question or challenge Government policy.