Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I recognise the expertise this State has garnered in offshore and onshore wind energy and indeed solar. I was at the launch of the Timahoe North Solar Farm in Kildare only three weeks ago, an excellent facility that will provide energy to a significant number of people in Kildare and across the country. However, my argument here is that if we look to Belgium, for example, they recently extended the operation of two nuclear reactors. These will supply 15% of national electricity demand and help reduce reliance on gas imports. France approved the construction of six new large reactors in 2022, which are expected to meet 10% of electricity demand. The UK, for example, under its 2022 energy security strategy, plans to build eight large reactors and develop small modular reactors, the SMRs that I mentioned.

My argument here is not that we go full throttle into nuclear energy. All I am asking is that we model out the cost benefits of actually looking at and analysing whether nuclear is even an option and whether it is worth looking at and investigating properly. We need to ensure we have energy security moving forward and look at all options.

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