Louis O'Hara (Galway East, Sinn Fein)

Investment in our electricity grid is essential for Ireland's future. For many years, successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have failed to invest in adequate grid infrastructure, which has resulted in constrained housing development, major outages during storms and high electricity prices. Without a grid built for the 21st century, we will continue to see housing targets being missed. We will continue to see major outages during storms and rip-off electricity prices will not be addressed. While Sinn Féin supports the intent of the Bill, ramming it through without the necessary safeguards in place will not undo decades of under-resourcing and lack of delivery.

This Bill provides an opportunity to deliver clear oversight into how billions of euro are directed into our electricity grid and yet Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have decided not to engage with our amendments. We have proposed amendments that would ensure that this investment is geared towards the public good rather than serving corporate greed. We will continue to insist that this public investment prioritises transparency, accountability, fairness and affordability.

This investment comes at a time when almost 300,000 households are in arrears on their electricity bills. This week we saw the first analysis from the Government's energy affordability task force. The task force report illustrates the depth of Ireland's energy price crisis and outlined that more than 60% of electricity arrears are now long term. This highlights the lived reality of many households, who face significant difficulties in paying their bills and continue to see energy prices rise. Despite knowing this reality and knowing the positive impact electricity credits have had in previous years, the Government decided not to include energy credits in the recent budget. This is a clear slap in the face to households struggling with the ongoing cost-of-living crisis and the many people who simply cannot pay their bills.

Storms over the past year have shown the fragile nature of our electricity grid infrastructure. In the last year alone, over 300,000 customers lost power after Storm Darragh, 700,000 customers lost power after Storm Éowyn, and just last month nearly 50,000 customers lost power after Storm Amy. Many households lost power in all three of these storms for long periods of time. As we enter the winter storm season this year, there is real fear among many households about the potential for serious outages. With any increase in investment, there needs to be a serious focus on grid resilience.

At this crucial time when we must invest in our grid, Government must ensure that this investment prioritises the public good. This is an opportunity to address issues such as energy affordability, grid availability and grid resilience. To do this, however, there must be appropriate transparency and accountability that public money and public investments are used effectively. There is a clear lack of transparency and accountability in the current form of this Bill. I call on the Government to work with us to ensure that Ireland's grid infrastructure is fit for the future.

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