Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It was a bit churlish of me not to state that, unusually, two of these amendments, amendments Nos. 101 and 104, are jointly sponsored by myself and Deputy Sean Fleming.

To deal with the specific points he made which relate to the energy network companies, Deputies will be aware of statements made by the former Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, in recent weeks that he was in favour of FOI applying to the monopoly energy network businesses of the ESB, Ervia and EirGrid. Ervia is the new company that has taken over the business of Bord Gáis Éireann since Bord Gáis Energy, the competitive gas energy supply business, was sold earlier this year.

On foot of that commitment, my officials have been engaging with officials in the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in an effort to draft a suitable amendment to ensure that the monopoly businesses of the bodies are made subject to FOI but that the integrity of the supply of both gas and electricity is safeguarded in the strategic interests of the State. It will also be necessary to ensure that the commercial enterprises of the companies are protected, consistent with other commercial public bodies, and that a situation is not created where the financial standing of the companies and their ability to attract funding from the financial markets on the best possible terms for critical future investments is put at risk.

What I have decided to do is to make preliminary amendments at this stage. I may have to revisit these in the Seanad in the autumn to ensure that the issues I have already mentioned are adequately addressed. Ervia is a company in development and the current licence holder as transmission and distribution system operator is Gaslink Independent System Operator Limited. This is likely to change in the short term when Ervia establishes its gas network company as a subsidiary. Any changes to the Bill as a result of developments in this area will also be addressed before the Bill concludes its passage through the other House. I will pursue these issues in consultation with the new Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and with the Commissioner for Energy Regulation.

The specific amendments I am tabling here are to remove Bord Gáis Éireann from the list of exempt agencies and replace it with its successor Ervia and to provide an exemption in Schedule 1 Part 1 so that the impact of amendments Nos. 87 and 97 is that the records of Gaslink Independent System Operator Limited as transmission and distribution system operator under the Gas (Interim) (Regulation) Act 2002 are subject to FOI. The impact of amendments Nos. 86 and 101 is to remove EirGrid plc from the list of exempt agencies in Schedule 1 Part 2 and to add it to the list of agencies that are exempt in part in Schedule 1 Part 1 so that its records relating to its licensed functions as transmission system operator under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 are subject to FOI. As ESB Networks Limited is a separate legal entity from the ESB Group, I am leaving the ESB Group in the exempt list, but in amendment No. 86 I am including an exemption for ESB Networks Limited in Schedule 1 Part 1 so that the records of ESB Networks Limited relating to its licensed functions as distribution system operator under the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 are subject to FOI.

This all sounds complicated but I am stripping the commercial bits from the monopoly bits.

The exemption for Irish Water is being deleted from the Bill in amendment No. 104 and I have already given my reason for the exemption of Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners.

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