Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)

I echo the comments about PLS. Unfortunately, during the previous term the Minister for energy got into a really bad habit of rushing Bills through the committee without proper scrutiny and it looks like the Minister of State is taking up that mantle and doing similarly. As a principle, all Bills should go through PLS unless there is an urgent or emergency reason not to. I do not think that is the case in this instance and it certainly was not the case previously. I ask the Government to stop using that mechanism. The Government members within the committee will always have the majority vote so I ask the Government to please allow Bills to go through the proper process. It will mean a much more robust debate and better legislation at the end of the day. It is not wasted time but very much valuable time. I ask the Government to do that.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is not just a technical debate about infrastructure. It is a discussion about the changing economic climate in Ireland, the changing environmental framework we are dealing with and how we prepare for those different changes as we go into the next decade. It is also a question of fairness and who we are building out our energy systems for. That needs to be a large part of the discussion here today.

It is nearly a year now since January 2025 when Storm Éowyn tore through Ireland, leaving 768,000 homes, farms and businesses without power. It was the worst storm that ESB Networks and the country have ever faced. Poles snapped, lines were down and entire communities were cut off from heat, light and communication for weeks on end. In the aftermath, emergency centres were set up, international crews were flown in and thousands of families were left in the cold. However, it was not a freak event. The unfortunate reality is that we-----

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