Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Gjedrem for the presentation. It sounds really interesting. I had a couple of points to ask about but he has half answered some of them. I want to understand what motivated the original establishment of the fund. What were the big drivers? I also want to understand how funds get into it. How are they levied? For example, any petroleum taxes collected by the State seem to go into it but is there a kind of carbon tax siphoned off beforehand that goes towards a just transition? How is it established what funds go in? How are they identified? It is interesting that it is not invested in any Norwegian funds. I get what Mr. Gjedrem said about why that would be the case. Are they not investing therefore in their competitors? Do Norwegian companies find that some of it is already invested in their competitors? I am interested to know that.

We are looking towards wind energy. I am trying to get a handle on how Mr. Gjedrem might think a similar fund could work in that case. He also said that it took about 25 years between the start of production and the first lodgments into the fund. What were the big impediments to that? Might he have identified a work-around on that? What lessons can we take from it?