Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I am sorry, Deputy O'Connor. We need to push the caution button. Solar is at approximately 3%. It is growing. Fossil fuel is not sustainable either. We need a balance. We have done well in the context of onshore wind. We have a journey to go on offshore wind, and solar will play a part in that mix.

I was in Texas prior to going to Washington, which is the subject matter of all these questions. We think of Texas as a fossil fuel area. It is going to go big on solar, nuclear, wind and battery storage. There will be a mix for quite some time yet in the context of what energy we will use. I take Deputy O'Connor's point. What he is really referring to is a planning issue. He is saying we do not really want a developer-led approach to solar. Some of the proposals that are coming our way might reflect that. We have not had a developer-led approach in respect of wind and offshore wind; it has been a planned approach. This is something we need to discuss with the Deputy again. Perhaps, however, the Minister responsible for planning and housing needs to look at that. The Deputy is concerned about prime agricultural land being used for solar, but many farmers will say it is their entitlement to use the land for whatever purpose. There are real issues here, but I take on board what the Deputy is saying about trade-offs in the economy.

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