Mr. Jim Gannon:

We have a couple of programmes that are trying to address that. There is a sustainable energy community network. There are now 60 to 70 members in that from local communities. We are effectively trying to provide consumers with more awareness, inform them and empower them to engage in this, tell them about these technologies, give them the ability and the confidence effectively to buy into this and derive some value from it. We give them the ability to create their own roadmaps for their communities, and we give them mentors and support to engage with consultants and advice to do the same. The aim is to bring them towards our larger funding projects like the better energy communities scheme, under which 37 projects funded 383 community buildings and about 2,000 homes in combination at a parish level. It creates that awareness and joint effort. It is important to note that we need something material around renewable electricity specifically and, with the Department, we are helping to design a framework which would help communities invest and participate more materially in the types of projects we will see in the future of renewable electricity. We need to admit to ourselves that the communities are different and we need to be adaptable and responsive to them. One size may not fit all.

Good progress has been made towards 2020 under renewables but there is a lot left to do. We reached 9.1% at the end of 2015, but there is still a gap to reach 16%. It will be a challenge to us. We support the level of ambition outlined in the renewable energy directive at 27% across the EU. Again, it is not without challenges. With regard to how Ireland achieves its devolved ambition, it will have to be carefully thought out. We are a peripheral state at the edge of Europe with our own conditions around resources and our own grid. We will be at the centre of this. What we are trying to do is progress aspects such as the renewable heat incentive, which it is hoped will be completed by the end of this year and will begin to produce some impact on that sector. Separate from that, as we move into next year we are trying to support the Department as it designs an updated renewable electricity support scheme in whatever shape that may take.

Energy efficiency is where Ireland has led and that has been recognised across Europe in the past. We really have been at the forefront. We must not be complacent about that and really push on. There will be a binding target for 2030 in energy efficiency. I believe it is also important that it is recognised as the most cost-effective way of decarbonising. The unit of energy one does not spend is the cheapest. It also helps us with our renewable electricity targets because it is a percentage of what we use. If we reduce the overall pot of what we use, that percentage becomes easier to achieve with what we have on the ground. It hits a number of different targets in terms of achieving them and separately in terms of involving communities and businesses, because every business and home will have its own part to play.

We have put in place a couple of pieces of work this year. We have put in place greater capital schemes for the public sector across the Office of Public Works, OPW, and schools, and we are interacting more effectively in terms of leveraging off the private sector and getting it to invest more money into what we are doing. We are also looking at different and more subtle market interventions. We are setting up a behavioural economics unit to try to look at how we can incentivise change without putting as much capital into it.

With regard to Brexit, it is not really in our purview. From our perspective, there are a lot of similar themes in the philosophy that underpins the clean energy package and in what underpinned the creation of the single electricity market. It is about providing best value to the consumer and making best use of the power on the system and of the shared and combined infrastructure. The indications from both Governments at this point is that it is on their agenda. I believe it must remain there. From our perspective, we speak to the consumer and the business all the time and the issue of energy is cross-cutting. The more efficient and effective we can make that, the better for all.