Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

I will say something at the outset in a broader sense. The Government does not develop wind farms. The Government does not develop solar farms. The prospect of doing that would involve a multibillion euro speculative kind of investment by the State, so they are privately led. The fundamental difference between us in terms of economic philosophy is that I believe there has to be a private sector and there has to be private sector investment in these matters. There have to be guidelines. The Deputy's point is interesting because he instanced wind energy, solar and gas, and there are problems with all three. We have a significant energy security problem. In fact, one of the biggest issues facing the Government for the future is energy security and how we provide for a growing population in terms of household energy, companies, business and industry and how we deal with the AI revolution that is coming.

We need a debate on energy, because if we are going to reject all three types, then we have a very bleak future from an energy perspective.

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