Mr. Barry Sharkey:

I would appreciate it if Mr. Gannon put some structures in place to turn on the tap just a little. I speak on behalf of solar PV installers nationally. We have a stop-go scenario and there is not enough work for us to keep working every week or every day. Half the month is what we are working and, as such, we need Mr. Gannon to turn on the tap. He should not be afraid that he will drown us.

We did not discuss curtailment, which is becoming a huge issue in a lot of countries where the level of wind is increasing. It is a very fancy word for dumping electricity. Much of the electricity which has been generated in the few weeks since Christmas has been dumped. Why are we dumping electricity and then charging people 18.3 cent a unit? My proposal on a future system for homes, which includes battery storage and off-peak metering using smart meters, would mean electricity could, instead of being dumped, be fed to businesses, homes and farms at a reduced rate. However, we are way behind the curve as regards energy storage and I have heard no discussion about it here today. Every large wind or solar project internationally is installing energy storage as part of the package.

Rooftop solar can be rolled out in significant quantities. One is talking about up to 1 MW. However, in Ireland, one is only allowed to put six panels on one's home without seeking planning permission. It is a bit silly. A farmer can only install 38 or 40 panels without seeking planning permission. On the one side we are saying, "Go ahead, here is your grant and incentive to install this stuff", while on the other we are saying, "No, you must apply for planning permission". That is a big turn-off for many businessmen who do not have the time. We must look at our existing planning requirements for rooftop solar panels, which are very restrictive.

Last but not least, I have a quiz for the committee. What caused the Great Famine of 1845? The answer is that bad policy decisions caused the Famine. A group of politicians and policymakers sat around in a room and said, "We must keep exporting the food to meet our balance of payments, pay the rent, provide for the army and supply the British market". What caused the Famine to run on for five or six years was inaction and bad decisions. I have been waiting ten years for a decision on solar PV. I sold a brilliant business in 2009 thinking the next revolution was in renewable energy and I have been waiting ten years for it to take off in Ireland.