Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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104. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the additional resources that are being provided to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and EirGrid to account for the increased workload as a result of offshore wind developments; the discussions he has held with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the need to provide extra resources to An Bord Pleanála for the same reason; the number of additional staff provided to each for this reason to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18801/22]

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I ask the Minister what additional resources are being provided to the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and EirGrid to account for the increased workload as a result of offshore wind developments and other developments; and the discussions he has held with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the need to provide extra resources to An Bord Pleanála for the same reason. It continues on the theme from my last question. We have heard from many agencies and stakeholders about the deficits in human resources.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The Deputy is absolutely right to question this, because the very centre point of us delivering everything else is ensuring that we have the resources within particular State agencies to deliver. On that basis, officials from my Department have been engaging with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage with respect to the level of staffing required by An Bord Pleanála to process applications for renewable energy, both onshore and offshore, with a view to ensuring that there is sufficient and appropriate expertise in place to meet the State's ambitions in respect of the roll-out of renewable energy projects. These discussions are ongoing and will continue over the course of the current quarter. The CRU has submitted its strategic plan for 2022 to 2024, which includes a workforce plan to increase the workforce by 74 over the next three years to ensure it can deliver on its objectives, including programme for Government commitments in relation to off-shore renewable energy. My consent and that of my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, is needed for the workforce plan and official-level engagement has been expedited to secure approval. Third, EirGrid has been appointed the operator and asset owner of Ireland's offshore electricity transmission system, with ownership resting with EirGrid at all stages of the phased transition, regardless of whether the grid has been developed by individual renewable energy projects or EirGrid. As a commercial State company, the resourcing required to deliver on EirGrid's mandate is a matter for the board and management of the company. I expect and see EirGrid expanding its operations to meet the requirements of this leap we need to make.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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I will start where the Minister finished, on EirGrid. I must say that concerns have been raised both publically and privately. There have been media reports in recent weeks. There are real concerns about EirGrid's capacity to deliver on what it needs to deliver on. In terms of the grid connections, it is not even fit to tell us when it will deliver on what it is committing to deliver on. It will be the end of this year before it gives us a timeline on its 48 projects. It is saying very publically that there is nothing to see here and that EirGrid is in control. Everybody else in any way closely connected with the organisation, including the people leaving it on a daily basis, is saying that there are deep concerns and it is not across its brief. That is a major concern. I ask the Minister to address that point specifically in his response.

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I do not agree. My experience of EirGrid, having engaged with the company for over 15 years, is that it is absolutely across its brief. It is highly capable, professional and has real expertise in terms of how we develop the transmission system and how we manage this incredibly complex project - this variable supply and demand balancing system. I look at the variety of projects which EirGrid has delivered over the years, including the east-west interconnector. There are projects progressing at the moment right across our transmission system. I refer to the Shaping Our Electricity Future plan. I think the consultation that was done on that is best in class in terms of bringing the public with us, as we discussed earlier. EirGrid has learnt the hard way over the years how to start getting that right. I see the management, executives and board of the company being well placed to do it. It does not have some of the restrictions that some of the State companies have. If I was really focusing on where this crunch issue about resources is, I think it is in getting additional staff to CRU and An Bord Pleanála. Those two organisations are dependent on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform signing off on some of the approvals. If I am really focusing on where I will put my pressure on, it is to get those organisations additional staff, the same way that we staffed up our own Department and the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI.

Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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That is where I want to go next. We heard from the CRU that it plans to bring in 74 additional staff. We were out at Dublin Airport on Monday, so we are aware of the challenges involved in recruiting staff in the current climate. We are talking about a specific cohort of people. Do we even have the capacity within the State at this point to fill those 74 positions? First, will there be agreement from Government to deliver them and how quickly can they be delivered? On An Bord Pleanála, the Minister is aware that Wind Energy Ireland, amongst others, has said that the average decision time for a planning appeal is 60 weeks. The average decision time for strategic infrastructure developments is 69 weeks. That is evidence of a broken system. It does not work and it will not deliver to the type and scale required. What specific measures, including additional staff, is the Minister looking for and when will they be delivered?

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I will be going to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform looking for delivery on the sort of numbers that CRU is looking for in its strategic plan. I think we will be able to recruit people, because there are a lot of people with energy expertise in our country. We need to see movement from the private sector into the regulatory sector. I think that has to be managed appropriately. There is a fairly wide and deep pool of people in this country with real expertise. With regard to An Bord Pleanála, that is obviously a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I spoke to him recently on this issue and he has confirmed that there are plans to scale up the organisation. It is a difficult market. The organisation will be looking for planners and ecologists. There is a real tightness. This is a critical issue not just for our renewables industry but also for housing, because An Bord Pleanála is one of the real bottlenecks. Part of the problem there is probably that An Bord Pleanála is tied up in judicial reviews, with many decisions being reviewed. The planning reform being carried out by the Office of the Attorney General to help modernise, update and improve the planning legislation will help An Bord Pleanála manage the resources that it has, but it needs additional resources urgently.