Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy McGrath, summed it up when he spoke about timings. Another energy ministers meeting will take place at the end of the month. If we are in a position to have clarity about a good figure that we can stand over for use next year and about which we can give an indication to the Oireachtas and the public, of course we will do so. However, we are conscious of the fact that, if we put a figure in our budget arithmetic, we have to be confident that it will not change by orders of magnitude. Currently, I cannot give that figure to the committee or the Government. There is no point in pretending otherwise, as doing so would only lead to difficulty and confusion. If we put a figure into our budgetary calculations for next year, it has to be a figure that we can stand over and has a reasonable chance of being delivered. Currently, that figure is not available to us.