Mr. Mark Foley:

I will start with data centres. The new data centre policy was announced before Christmas. It has three new criteria, namely, you have got to be in the right place, you have got to bring generation and you have got to bring services. I am confident we will sign new contracts under that policy regime this year with data centre operators who comply with those three criteria. There are many discussions going on with operators but I expect there will be a number of connection agreements signed this year. This policy framework is going to work. There is a lot of onus on them to bring something to the party and they will do so.

On the Senator's questions about offshore renewable wind energy, can we separate the two horizons? It is really clear for 2030, that is, 5 GW of offshore in the Irish Sea. It is the most cost-effective place to locate. The seabed is shallow. The developers have been out there for the past ten years developing their projects. We are really clear we need those 5 GW of projects. We need about 1.4 GW of batteries, I think. We need some onshore wind, some solar and subsistence services. That is really clear. The numbers might move a little bit but generally speaking that is what needs to be done. When we look beyond 2030 - and this is where the Senator mentioned 80 GW - the potential off the west coast is almost unimaginable. Our job later this year is to start the process to look with stakeholders at how Ireland Inc. exploits that opportunity. We will do so through a very engaging process with all the actors in the system, including bodies such as IDA Ireland that are looking at the long-term economic interests of Ireland. That will explore options, scenarios, etc., about how that can be deployed. It is important we separate the two. The 2030 target is about delivering what is front of us. Post-2030 is about realising a vision for Ireland in terms of the resource.

Have I answered the Senator's question?