Mr. Mark Foley:

I will make two quick comments in response to Deputy Devlin. The Celtic link is going exceedingly well. We lodged planning in June. The level of observation received in September was very modest for a project of its size, so we are quietly confident and hopeful of an outcome from An Bord Pleanála in the new year. It is going very well.

I used the word "unpalatable". I thank the Deputy for acknowledging what Ireland Inc. and all of the ecosystem have achieved in delivering 43% renewables on the power system last year. None of us is happy with a situation where we will have to keep the coal plants open and have some emergency generation to see us through a difficult couple of winters. We would all prefer if new low-carbon gas had arrived and we could see off those plants. By "unpalatable", I speak to something we would all prefer was not the case. However, these are plants that have been invested in, are in operation and have served the State for many decades. It is incumbent on us to keep them going until such time as we come out the other end of this difficult interim period.