Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht teacht isteach anseo inniu. There seems to be a bit of an expectation to have a mystic Minister with some sort of climate crystal ball. We have to live in the real world sometimes. That is why my questions will focus primarily on the modelling used for our carbon budgets. I look at the carbon budget proposal for 2031 to 2035 as well as the 2036 to 2040 proposal. The two questions I have relate to longer term projects. My first question concerns the private wires Bill. If the private wires Bill were to be enacted, for example, and there were to be a lot of discourse on how data centres are using up so much energy from the national grid, if they could create their own energy on site, how would that contribute to those budgets? Is the impact of the private wires Bill being considered? While we do not know its impact yet because the Bill has not been enacted, has any type of modelling been done around that?

My second question concerns nuclear energy. Has any modelling been done on nuclear energy? Regardless of my perspective or anyone's perspective on nuclear, the reality is that we are importing nuclear energy in to this country. Hypothetically speaking - I am speaking of modelling - if nuclear energy was created on this island, how could that positively impact our carbon budgets and take away a lot of the dependency on fossil fuels? When we speak of offshore renewables and the targets around them, we are looking to the future. Nothing is guaranteed yet. From a nuclear perspective, is it being considered? If it has not been considered, that is fine. Is it something the Minister's Department has considered in any type of modelling when looking at these carbon budgets? My first question relates to the private wires Bill and my second is on nuclear energy.