Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 30 January 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

General Oversight of EirGrid: Discussion

Mr. Mark Foley:

Can we do the maths? Of course. However, I think the SEAI has been given the responsibility for that. The Chairman is asking a very profound, if I may, question about economic growth. We have a policy and a plan. If we deliver this plan, it will deliver the lowest carbon electricity system arguably in the world on a per-megawatt basis. We can still have economic growth. We can still have a digital economy, electrification of heat and transport, and population growth. That is my understanding of Ireland’s vision for itself. If we challenge that and decide to look at an alternative, let us call it a reductionist model, which might say no economic growth, that is arguably a conversation for a higher authority than us.