Mr. Mark Foley:

I am not diminishing the Senator's questions. I am saying we have a job to do in the context of meeting Government policy. Let us not lose sight of what this country has achieved. We were one of the first countries in the world, in 2020, to have 40% of our electricity coming from renewable sources. We have set an ambition for 70% to 80% by 2030. We are on a trajectory of transformation that is right up there with the best and most ambitious countries in the world and I am trying to put that in context. In order to achieve that, there will be a natural balance between supply and demand. If we do not have demand, we will have no growth and we will stagnate at approximately 40% to 42% of electricity from renewable sources. This is about balance and about having a common vision. Ireland will have, if we achieve this, the lowest carbon power system in the world in 2030. We are not dismissing carbon in any way and we are taking our obligations really seriously. We are part of an instrument of Government policy to try to make this happen.

Our electricity demand has increased in the past couple of years because we have had a strong economy and because we have a growing population, unlike any other country in Europe. These are people who need homes, who need to be educated and who are going to consume power.