Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

Does the Minister accept that is a vague answer in terms of what will happen? The elaborate structure he described does not answer the question I asked regarding when roll-out will commence or be completed. I understand the total investment will be in the region of €600 million, so it is very important that the matter is addressed properly.

What exactly will be provided to individual households? What capability will be provided by what is being called a "smart meter" and how smart will it be? Is the Minister aware, for example, of the concerns that smart meters will benefit the electricity company more than customers in that its control could be extensive? Will he indicate whether there will be a facility in the smart meter to resell energy to the grid through micro-generation? What exactly will the smart meter provide? We have never heard the answer to this question. What difficulties does the Minister envisage given the concerns expressed by one particular union and the other concerns which I presume would be expressed in regard to the redundancies that would arise from the fact we would no longer, for example, need meter readers?

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