Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. To be fair that is a very substantive response and I appreciate it. I do have several issues. I have listened to many people from Government parties and the Opposition speaking about offshore wind energy. The harsh reality is we are being told it will take an average of seven years to do it here but when we look at our European counterparts, such as Slovakia, it can take as little as 18 months. It is laughable. It is actually quite worrying to read in the Minister's response that the ESB is the sole provider and sole distributor. Let us call it for what it is: it is a monopoly.

I am glad the Minister is having a public consultation. How long will it last for? When is it due to conclude? When does the Minister hope to implement any recommendation there may be? The targets we have and the implementation of the climate action plan are also quite welcome and we are all supportive of them. This area will be very important and central to the plan.

It is also worth noting that in the Minister's opening remarks he said this is governed by the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927. That is nearly a century ago. Given the energy crisis we are in it is a perfect example of why we need to get on with the consultation and get on with implementing any amendment the Minister may have. Already over in the UK, Centrica, which is the parent company of Bord Gais, has made a strategic decision to no longer supply large energy users such as those we are speaking about. We are speaking about potential blackouts in future years. We are speaking about demand exceeding supply in the coming decade. We need to get on with this and we need to stop delaying.

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