Mr. Matthew Collins:

I am sure it would be informative for both parties to take part in that deliberation and inform the debate on this Bill.

In the context of sustainability, the challenge for this Bill is that it has been accepted it does not reduce our greenhouse gas emissions. That is the greatest flaw in it. It does not deliver on one of the pillars that I have set out and it will have an impact on security and competitiveness.

In terms of the question of whether exploration off the west coast will lead to improved security, clearly the discovery of the Corrib field had a significant impact in terms of our security. Our import dependency fell from 88% in 2015 to 69% in 2016. There is a practical recent example of how exploration can contribution to security of supply.

The other issue with the Bill is that it simply does not provide any stimulation to renewable energy and energy efficiency. These are also some of the issues that the Deputy mentioned in trying to shift the balance from actions from the individual or householders to the companies. One of the key measures that has been identified by the IPCC is the role of energy efficiency. Energy efficiency is a gain for householders as well as businesses. Renewable energy targets are being imposed on the generation sector and we are targeting the business sector as well in terms of who must take action. It is also to be aware that if we take decisions that inadvertently rule out options or have knock-on implications for the cost of the transition or security aspect, higher energy costs will have impacts on end users, such as householders, as well. We need to be able to balance the effect of all the impacts on the end users as well.

The issue of lock-in was described. The lock-in is being talked about in terms of how long it takes a project to come on stream. We are all aware how long the Corrib field took to come on stream. At the same time, other natural gas projects have come on stream in Ireland, such as Seven Heads, in a four-year time horizon. That is an example of a project that could be brought on stream in a timely manner and contributed to the overall objectives of our energy policy. It assisting our sustainability because it enabled transfer from more polluting fuel sources to lower polluting gas but also improved competitiveness in industry based in Cork and energy security for Ireland.