Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I also warmly congratulate our President-elect, Catherine Connolly. I wish her the very best in her appointment. Leaving Mayo-Galway rivalries aside, I know she will do a tremendous job. I wish her the very best.

I thank all the Deputies for their engagement in respect of this very important Bill. I appreciate the general support right across the Chamber in that regard. The fact that many Members have contributed to the debate demonstrates the importance and relevance of energy issues. I welcome the broad range of contributions on such wide-ranging issues. I will, most importantly, keep my comments focused on the content and purpose of the Bill.

It is perhaps worthwhile to begin by restating the purpose of the Bill. It is very much focused on creating capital stock in the ESB in return for payment. This will be the mechanism by which the Government will provide the €1.5 billion investment in the ESB to support critical development of our electricity and grid over the next five years, as committed to in the updated national development plan. This investment will be crucial, as many Deputies said, in modernising, building that resilience and reinforcing our electricity network infrastructure. It will also support the Government's key priorities in infrastructure, housing, competitiveness, investment growth and climate action.

Within that, there will be a robust accountability and oversight mechanism for the expenditure by ESB Networks. Indeed, that will increase significantly in price review 6. The company will be obliged to report to the CRU, on a programme by programme basis, on cost, performance, delivery and the timeline for delivery. The Minister will also require ESB Networks, as part of this investment, to report quarterly on network expenditure, network financing, delivery and debt, which is very important. There will be a clear and transparent reporting mechanism for the Minister. That has been an important theme that needs to be emphasised as part of this. It is also important to recall that the State itself will receive, on a receive-return basis, a return on its €1.5 billion investment and, as the major shareholder, on ESB profits via payment of dividends. The Government's investment will be complemented by additional privately sourced debt, funded by the ESB, to finance the delivery of the overall price review 6 investment programme. The Bill will ensure that it also provides for the increase in the ESB statutory borrowing limit from €12 billion to €17 billion.

This large-scale investment in the grid as part of PR 6 will deliver energy security into the future for Irish families and communities right across the country. It will significantly improve network resilience and future-proof it for generations to come. It will enable the connection of hundreds of thousands of new homes - as I said, we have an ambitious target of over 300,000 homes over the term of this Government - improve connectivity and accelerate the connection of new sources of renewable electricity. It is another important piece of legislation that demonstrates the Government's commitment in meeting our critical infrastructure needs as a State and balancing the needs around housing, economic growth and employment in our economy in delivering the key infrastructure we require.

I will respond to some of the key themes and questions raised by many Deputies. One related to high energy prices. Many Deputies raised their concerns around the impact of these high prices on households and businesses. We fully understand these concerns. Many Deputies will be aware that a number of factors give rise to higher energy costs right across Ireland. One of the principal factors is our current reliance on fossil fuels, in particular, imported gas. We are very much reliant on imported gas, which is particularly vulnerable to price volatility in the international wholesale gas market. We are very much focused on building a more renewable base. Electrification provides a route not just to decarbonising our energy system but also reducing our dependency on imported gas. We, along with many of our neighbours, very much feel the impact of our vulnerability to reliance on gas as our main energy source. We are making great strides in substituting our fossil fuels with indigenously generated wind and solar energy. This journey to a clean energy source is very much part of this programme. Electrification can only be achieved through investment in our electricity grid. That is what we are focused on through this Bill.

In addition, the €1.5 billion investment in ESB, which the Bill we are discussing will facilitate, will help keep consumer costs associated with the PR6 infrastructure programme to a minimum by ensuring the ESB maintains a high credit rating but also can borrow at low interest rates.

In terms of supporting householders and businesses on the more immediate basis, I again highlight some of the key measures Government is progressing to help current energy costs, including the extension of the reduced VAT rate of 9% on gas and electricity. We also increased the weekly fuel allowance by €5 from January 2026. That will provide an additional €140 to over 400 households during the annual fuel allowance season. We are extending the €400 tax exemption from profits from micro-generation of electricity to 2028. We are also providing a range of grants to include solar PV on homes, businesses and farms to make it easier for people to improve their energy efficiencies and produce their own energy. We have also received confirmation from the main energy suppliers that the hardship funds for those struggling to meet their energy costs will also be made available to households over the winter.

Deputies asked how much investment has been allocated in facilitating new data centres. I assure them that price review 6 takes many Government targets into account including the connection of up to 50,000 new homes a year, up to 1 million electric vehicles and currently contracted data centre demand. The programme for Government commits to developing a comprehensive plan to accelerate energy generation connectivity and the planning process. That plan will be guided on the approach around data centres, which provide huge importance within our enterprise system, but we need to provide certainty to the industry when making short- to medium-term investment.

Regarding future grid investment and ESB profits, a number of Deputies asked about grid investment. To date Ireland has invested in the grid at a similar pace to our EU peers, maintaining and upgrading EirGrid as required. Ireland needs to go through a period of change in the use and demand of electricity. Adapting our grid for this increased demand for energy is critical in order to progress our decarbonisation progress.

I am confident that the legislation before the House today is an important step in future-proofing our grid for generations to come. I acknowledge the significant work of the Attorney General, his officials, and officials from both the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation who have worked with my departmental officials here today in drafting this important legislation. I also thank the members of the Joint Committee on Climate, Environment and Energy for meeting officials for a technical briefing in advance of granting a waiver on the pre-legislative scrutiny. I also thank Deputies from all sides of the House here today for their interest and contributions. I look forward to the early consideration of the next Stage of the Bill taking place tomorrow.

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