Mr. Jim Gannon:

It was considered at the time in parallel to the review of security of supply. In 2020 and particularly in 2021, we started engaging with ESB Networks and EirGrid on the LEU rebalancing. It was not part of the review around security of supply and connections policy at the time but the questions had started to be asked in parallel in terms of collecting the data together. That examination was happening at that time but it was not folded into the review.

An important piece of work now is the development of the national energy demand strategy, which is in consultation, and, separately, the large energy user connections policy, which is also under consultation and encompasses more than just data centres. We are seeking to align connection policy and a national demand strategy not just with security of policy and ensuring an economic delivery of infrastructure but also with our climate Act obligations and the carbon budgets that are being set. As we have said before at this committee, the regulator has a certain set of tools within a regulatory toolbox and certain viresand abilities. It is highly likely that to deliver on our carbon budgets and ambitions will require engagement with many other actors. The need for a cross-governmental approach is mentioned in the Government's digitalisation and decarbonisation strategy, with reference to the place of data centres in enterprise strategy in Ireland. A cross-governmental and cross-agency approach will be required to deliver that. It could relate to economic planning, spatial planning and the various stages projects need to go through, as well as enterprise planning and enterprise incentivisation. It is broader than our own viresbut we are consulting on it.