Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professor McMullin. I want to speak about demand management because often when we have this conversation it is about blackouts versus security of supply or security of electricity generation. We have never had that proper conversation that we have to live within a reality and within natural boundaries. We are constantly talking about protecting business and future investment. We can have future investment if we not only decarbonisation but we manage our use properly.

A lot of the conversations are around data centres. Ireland invited data centres in without any obligations. Even though the policy is moving in a different direction, there are a lot of other things we do not talk about in terms of demand management. Perhaps Professor McMullin cannot speak about it here but does he believe the conversation relies too heavily on the fear of blackouts and that that is what underpins a lot of these conversations around LNG? I lodged an objection to LNG in Shannon. Everything that I have heard so far today would indicate that nothing has changed. It is still the wrong direction to move in but we need to have a conversation with the public on our overuse of electricity in our homes and workplaces because decarbonisation will happen if we really invest in it but the quicker thing to do is manage how we use electricity.