Michael McDowell (Independent)
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I have three questions. There has been a lot of enthusiastic comment here on the directive improving things. From Ireland's point of view, will someone explain to me what this directive will achieve that we could not achieve for ourselves? Will it give new powers to our regulator? Could we not get those powers by ourselves? I note that it is stated there are no implications for subsidiarity. If these are good ideas then is there some constitutional reason we are not doing them ourselves?

I want to have some clarity about modelling. What economic modelling are we putting in place for all of this? Are there any extrapolations of Irish growth such as population growth and are they being built into our modelling? Are we working towards Ireland growing constantly at 3% and 4% over the next ten or 20 years and what assumptions are we making? A subset of this question is that we are talking about a major transformation - we hope - from fossil fuelled vehicles to electric vehicles, at least for small and medium-sized vehicles. Is the increased demand for electricity built into the model? What are the implications of large-scale use of Ireland for data centres? It is my understanding that they can be very significant consumers of electricity. Maybe someone will explain that to me.

My last query is about the Celtic interconnector and is directed at Mr. Slye or Mr. Doyle. It was said that the interconnector will not be built if there is no positive benefit for Irish consumers. I presume cheaper electricity would be available or a more predictable electricity supply. Is it the case that Ireland will not proceed with it unless prospective electricity prices in France appear to be significantly lower and the French are probably only interested in getting involved if there is going to be a good profit for them or a return on their investment? I have looked at the figures and it appears that we have nearly 3,000 MW of wind power in Ireland at the moment and the major ESB and other electricity plants have capacity for another 2,500 MW. The Celtic interconnector is to bring a 700 MW connection, which is less than the Moneypoint power station is currently supplying. I would like someone to explain to me what this €1 billion interconnector will bring that another Moneypoint would not? Is French nuclear power the advantage of it?