Mr. Jim Gannon:

Again, we share the ambition of the committee. We also follow Government policy. Everyone has admitted that 70% by 2030 is challenging in terms of the type of infrastructure we need to put in place, supporting it with the correct investment and the systems, such as licensing, planning, consent and delivery supply chains, that are also needed to put that infrastructure in place by 2030. Going above that would be a further challenge but it is one that we would accept and take on board. We would work with our markets, network companies and, on the demand side, consumers, to execute and put in place options around that. It is again back to the networks being able to facilitate it and generation being the right mix of thermal we can depend on, along with wind, solar and offshore wind, which we want to meet those targets.

Some of the things we are doing right now, including with EirGrid, in moving instantaneously from 75% renewable electricity to above that, is world leading for the type of grid we have. We are asking ourselves to continue to be world leading to 2030, including looking at some of the system services Ms MacEvilly mentioned earlier that would reduce our dependency on typical thermal plant for some of the system services to make sure we have the right frequency and voltage on demand. We used to rely on thermal plant but we are now creating a market that allows us to rely on different technologies, such as batteries and static compensators, STATCOMs, which will give us a green alternative to the old thermal generations. There is a suite of activities, all of which will be needed, including demands like participation, to get us to, and beyond, 70%. We will listen and will see what Government policy will be. We are involved in discussions on the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, 2021, and we will continue to be ambitious.