Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Over the last 12 years, it would appear that if we were doing it, we were not doing it very effectively because we finished up in a situation where demand has increased because population has increased. In addition, data centres, industry, employment increases, car charging and heat pumps in houses all place new demands on electricity.

Mr. Griffin would have heard me talk about some of these issues five or six years ago. I was trying to figure out in my head, and I am still trying to figure out, where the dispatchable power comes from. He will recall me telling the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that if the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine, that knocks out the solar panels and wind turbines, which I think are good.

I still have concerns about dispatchable power, however. The only way that I can see we can work with dispatchable power is through gas, which many people are not in favour of as a transition fuel, and biomass, which they were not in favour of up until recently, although they seem to be changing their minds. Biomass was completely ruled out but people are now in favour of it and can apparently talk about it for half an hour. This is all welcome. However, where is the dispatchable power over the next decade? Are there opportunities to drill for more gas in Corrib or other locations?