Mr. Jim Gannon:

The network tariffs will see a rise for all. This will be focused on the very large energy users sector. The rises for the domestic sector - some of those who milk cows might be in the domestic sector and some might be SMEs - will be smaller and will be weighted towards the peak hours of between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

The Senator raised a point around the connection of renewable energy generation, for example, photovoltaics on farm roofs. I note the ongoing work by ESB Networks, in particular this year, in piloting a programme to see how that sort of connection can be processed faster it has been historically for mid-tier rooftop-scale generation, that is, on an area bigger than a house but not necessarily at utility scale like 5 MW in a field. The ESB is significantly through that process and it expanded the pilot scheme for a period towards the tail end of this year. We are working with the company to make sure that is sped up and made more accessible.