Mr. Conor Minogue:

No. There are clearly challenges with CCS. It is a new technology. Although it is a proven technology, it has not been commercially tested yet. At the moment there is no obvious alternative to gas with CCS for providing that flexible generation in our electricity system.

Deputy Stanley asked about the stranded assets and the impact on the economy. That is something we are quite concerned about. I understand that the ESRI is doing a new model at the moment to measure the impact that decarbonisation will have on the Irish economy and on individual sectors. From our members, there is an appetite for looking at renewable technologies and moving away from fossil fuels. We need supports from Government and that is why in our budget submission this year we made a number of recommendations which I think are being discussed in the committee room next door. We are looking at supports for renewable heat to help companies move away from fossil fuels. The scheme is long overdue and we would like to see funding for it increased in 2019. For renewable electricity, we made a detailed submission last year on the renewable electricity support scheme. We see growth in renewable electricity but ideally with Exchequer funding to support premium cost technologies. We would also like to see supports for low emissions and electric vehicles. These are all part of the equation and businesses are looking for the supports to move away from fossil fuels.