Mr. Michael Manley:

We were very active in the negotiations.

We were very supportive of the agreement at the Council's conclusion in 2014 on the overall targets, but in terms of the actual text we have seriously engaged and we were concerned throughout that we would have a text that works for us. As the UK exits the EU, we will probably be the only member state using English as a first language. We will also be the only one relying on common law. We are generally exercised about how things are structured and about there being sufficient flexibility within the language of instruments so that we can actually deliver. It is not an effort to weasel out, but a search for suitable language. There was some media coverage at the time. For instance, at one stage we sought to have the words "at least" removed. Our reason for that was that we were concerned others would oppose it. We felt that if the text was removed, the debate around that issue would be removed. Others saw it differently and as us being hostile to the proposition. That was very much not the case.

Senator Lombard asked about emissions. I will leave emissions to my colleague but we have been very active with regard to Brexit. We are very cognisant of the fact that we have an all-island single electricity market, which is probably the single greatest exemplar of a common market in Europe. We have engaged with the European Commission, the UK and Northern Ireland. We have had two civic dialogue events, one was a very wide event with very wide attendance and the second was more industry focused. We wanted industry to come in and tell us how it saw the issues arising there. We have surfaced the issues that are of concern to us. The answers to those questions are not in our gift. They very much depend on the final arrangement between the UK and the European Union. We are conscious that for things like the single electricity market to work, there will need to be oversight mechanisms and common and level playing fields. We will have to be EU compliant because we are staying in the Union. We will need devices and mechanisms to that end. We will continue to engage with the UK throughout the current process. It is very important that the agreement reached before Christmas, apart from dealing with Irish issues, provides that Irish issues will remain a live dimension as sectoral issues are discussed.

On coal plants North and South, I acknowledge that the UK published a paper the week before last which said that it would have no more unabated coal. To an extent, that reflects the age of its coal fleet. Its coal fleet was generally built in the 1960s, whereas Moneypoint was built in the 1980s. There is a significant age difference and there is an advantage to the UK being an early mover on that issue. The White Paper provides that decisions will have to made on Moneypoint before the end of 2020, as it will come to the end of its natural life in 2025. There is a real recognition that we may be ending coal-fired electricity generation at that point. It will not be a simple issue however. There is over 900 MW of generation capacity at Moneypoint. It is at the end of the 400 kV link from the west coast to the east coast. Moneypoint also represents one third of the rate base of County Clare. There are significant economic and generation issues in managing the transition away from coal and into other fuels at Moneypoint. I do not know if that fully answered the question. I hope it did.