Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The timeline, as I said earlier, is months and I hope it is within weeks. It will not be later this year, as I expect to be able to publish it in late spring or summer. I was expecting to publish the Dermot McCarthy report at the start of the year but it was decided, given that we were developing this further energy security analysis, that it would be better to publish his report in tandem with it. His report has been well received internally in the Department and the various agencies involved in it. It has provided a very useful measure.

With regard to Deputy Bruton's question on timelines and how we can accelerate, there are changes happening. Last year was the greatest expansion in renewables we have seen in our history. Last Thursday, for the first time, we could start to see solar power having an influence. Last Thursday afternoon, 10% of our power demand was provided by solar power. We are only at the very start of the roll-out of the significant new solar capacity we expect from the previous auctions and from coming auctions. It is starting to happen. The transition are starting to take place.

As a further measure, to give an example of how sometimes we can act quickly, I met the company providing the new emergency generators for which the House legislated. We are on time, one year on from starting the process, to deliver that back-up capacity which we will need. We have not had an amber alert for the past six months thanks to some of the work being done. It is not impossible for us to get out of the energy security difficulties we were in and deliver the alternatives.

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