Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I would also like to reference Patrick Gerard Murphy. I knew Patrick as a fellow councillor. I went to many conferences with him over the years and had a pint and a bit of chat. He was always one for a bit of back-and-forth in the best way possible. He will be sadly missed. I was very sorry to hear about him yesterday.

What I want to reference today is Ireland's energy supply. As we know, it is one of the nation's key challenges.

Demand is rising, as was mentioned earlier in the context of the increase in our population. We are, quite rightly, phasing out fossil fuels and across the country people need certainty on supply and cost. In our programme for Government, we correctly identified the need to scale up investment in critical infrastructure in our electricity grid so as to make it advantageous to customers. While I know steps are in place, I am concerned that the pace of infrastructure delivery, like many facets of our economy, may not match the scale of generation coming on stream. Investment is needed. Apprenticeships need to be expanded and our grid needs to be overhauled. Can the Taoiseach confirm what steps the Government will prioritise in the coming months and in the budget to ensure that the commitments in the programme for Government on energy security, renewable integration and grid modernisation are delivered?

See this speech in context