Ms Martina Hennessy:

The Deputy's points are well made. What we have spoken about to date is just one aspect of work that is under way within the Department. We are looking primarily at the generation of renewable electricity, which is one component of the larger energy picture. The Deputy is correct that there are a lot of other aspects we have not referenced here.

On coastal communities and those in rural areas, we see huge potential with renewable energy projects to bring benefits through generating new jobs. For example, we know that one of the projects that is planning to go through the planning system on the east coast has designated Arklow as where it will base its operation and maintenance activities. That would generate 70 to 80 jobs, which would be high quality jobs. We see the industry offering that potential around coastal communities more broadly. Then there is the community benefit my colleague has already spoken about, where that fund will be set up and will look at benefiting the broader community. The details on that are still being developed. There are other initiatives within the Department that may be relevant here. A big one would be the retrofit programme, which is seeking to aid households in upgrading their homes in order that they can become more energy efficient.

The generation of renewable energy from clean and efficient sources is just one part of the story. There is also a lot of work going on in the Department in terms of grants to support households to become more energy efficient and to gain the benefits from reducing their energy costs over time. Those are some elements, but we can certainly get more information for the Deputy on any of those other programmes if he is interested in them.