Dr. Paul Deane:

I agree with the Deputy on the nuclear safety issue. It is fundamentally important. We should again just stress that nuclear is our promise for the future – it should not be a distraction to our current problems. In a best-case scenario for Ireland, nuclear is 15 years away. It is the next 15 months that are fundamentally crucial for us. It should not become a distraction from the things that we need to do. If a decision is to be made on nuclear, it will likely be in the next decade, if the technology becomes available. We have to acknowledge that it is still yet to move from conceptual to the commercial. It is long way to go yet. In 15 years’ time, we will all be much older and much wiser, and perhaps the technology will have progressed. At the moment, it comes to back to what I said in our opening statement, which is that Ireland needs to play to its strengths. We have a lot of wind, space and ability to produce energy in Ireland. We have many clever and smart communities in Ireland who can help us with that. That is what we need to focus on now in the short term, rather than waiting for a technology that may or may not develop and all the issues that go with that.

On the Deputy’s question on the royalties and offshore extraction, I agree with him. This is an important decision point for Ireland.