Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party)
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I thank Ms MacEvilly for her thorough opening statement. Members will have five minutes each for questions and answers and, if there is time, they may come in for a second round. There is lots of information in Ms MacEvilly's statement, which would take a long time address in full, so I will confine myself to a few points.

It is very significant that there were no system alerts, given we went into last winter and this winter really fearing there would be. It seems such alerts may be becoming a feature of the summer more so than they are of the winter. It is very significant that we have not had any this winter despite, as Ms MacEvilly noted, the record demand. Will she talk us though why it looks like we are in a better situation than we were before? What has changed since last year?

I would like to hear more about the enduring connection policy.

I commend the vision of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, on looking forward to Ireland becoming a net energy exporter in time, and as soon as possible, in order that we are not just looking to decarbonise our own system but to also help other countries as well. I would like to hear more about that. I would also like to hear more about demand-side flexibility, and particularly for the larger energy users. Ms MacEvilly mentioned the new approach by the CRU and perhaps she could elaborate on that.

Reference was also made to the challenge of getting new staff. This is something we hear about from every sector. It is to do with the economy and full employment. Every sector will be challenged to find skilled people to come and work in the industry, or to invite them to the country because we might not have the skills here. I am interested to hear what the CRU is doing to get the right people in place to take part in this huge reform agenda that we have.