Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Ba mhaith liom caint inniu faoi rud éigin atá i mbéal an phobail faoi láthair, an issue that is really crucial to Ireland's climate ambitions and something I have really championed, that is, private wire legislation. It is stated in the programme for Government that such legislation will be expedited. We all support that programme for Government but this is not being done fast enough. Countries like Denmark and the UK have moved ahead while Ireland still has gigawatts of renewable energy waiting for connection. I have spoken to multiple people with solar farms or wind farms who have waited periods of 18 months or nearly two years for EirGrid and the ESB to connect those facilities to the grid. This is not acceptable. This delay will cost us billions. The Gallery is full of members of the public who, through their taxes, will face the fines levied on the country if we do not reach our EU targets. When I qualified for my degree, I asked my professor what is the smallest thing we could do that would have the biggest output. He said it is private wire legislation.

In January, I gave a Bill to the OPLA in which I proposed two modest interim measures. These involved changing section 37 of the 1999 Act. We need to allow renewable projects to use private wires to connect to the grid. It is not fair. According to EirGrid's transmission development plan of 2012, there is a further 13.3 GW of wind-generated energy and 9.5 GW of energy generated in other ways in the queue of applications. The CRU's recent announcement regarding data centres will probably mean that data centres will be built along the M50, where fibre connectivity is good. However, it is important that thermal power generation is only used as a rare back-up and that excess wind power on the grid is used to charge the large battery banks in the winter, when solar generation is low.

We have to be honest. We saw the figures recently published by the EPA. The report shows that if the plans are fully implemented, which I doubt they will be, we will only deliver a maximum emissions reduction of 22% by 2030.

We have a huge chance now, before the summer recess, to bring in private wire legislation, and I urge this Government to do so.

On another point, we should invest hundreds of millions right now into our ports. I know €90 million went into Cork Port, but we need to be putting hundreds of millions into it because the giant vessels that will be going into these ports to create our ORE development will not fit in the port as it is. We can invest hundreds of millions right now which will save us tens of billions in the future.

I urge this Government to do that, and I would like the current update on private wire legislation.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an gceist. Is ceist an-tábhachtach í do mhuintir na tíre agus dá Dháilcheantar féin. I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I suspect there may be some people in the House who are not as aware of the private wires issue as Deputy Heneghan is. It is always good - he has spoken to me before about this - to have voices of experience here. For the benefit of those who understandably may not be aware of this, private wires refer to private individuals or undertakings running their own electricity cables in order to transfer electricity from one site to another. Private wires are separate from the national electricity grid.

I want the Deputy to know that the Government has prioritised increased investment in our grid and expanding our energy generation with a particular priority on renewable energy sources. The Department of the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, published a set of guiding principles for the development of a policy on private wires, as I know the Deputy is aware. Alongside the guiding principles, a summary report of the private wires public consultation and an appendix setting out all responses received were also published. The principles themselves, while not making immediate changes, are there to guide any changes which are to come and to provide guidance to the public and industry as to the direction of travel in respect of this key area, while reiterating the central role the national electricity grid will continue to play in the electricity system.

Developing a fulsome private wires policy is a priority for this Government, and the Deputy will know that the programme for Government committed to expediting the delivery of this policy. The private wires policy will aim to unlock private sector resources - we need private sector resources in this - to build new electricity infrastructure by expanding the rights of private undertakings to connect supply directly with demand. The intention is that by allowing private wires, accelerated investment in new electricity infrastructure, to include renewable generation and storage, will be seen, which will ultimately benefit the whole electricity system.

As the Deputy is aware, this is technically a very complicated area. There is a range of potential options available to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien. I understand from talking to the Minister that he intends to bring a policy statement to the Government in advance of the recess. As the Deputy also knows, and he has put forward his own proposals, legislative change will be required. Subject to approval by the Government, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, will set out the next steps to give effect to policy changes. It is a big, complicated, technical area, but I want the Deputy to know that it is in the programme for Government and the Minister is committed to bringing forward the change that the Deputy seeks and that will unquestionably be of huge benefit to the people of Ireland and indeed his constituency.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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I agree 100%, especially if you look at how the public view any other government waste. We now have a chance at the start of this Government term to bring this in as fast as possible and save us hundreds of millions. I refer especially to projects like the North-South interconnector. We may be hit with EU fines. The recent Spanish grid failure should be a wake-up call for us. We need resilience. The North-South transmission line will also help lower prices by an estimated 5%. That is huge for a family that is struggling.

We also need to make sure that data centres do not use private wire legislation as a greenwashing tactic. Private wires should be used to decarbonise the sector. We have a chance to do this right and we need it to be brought towards a committee for scrutiny as fast as possible.

We cannot talk about climate without talking about Dublin Bay, in my constituency. Dublin Bay recently had a huge issue with E. coli. This needs to be looked at by the Government. It is not happening on the southside of Dublin. It is northside swimmers who are being affected by E. coli.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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One question, Deputy.

Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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Sorry. I am only new.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I think the Deputy said it is northside swimmers who are being affected. Southside swimmers are affected as well by E. coli. We are not immune to E. coli on the southside of Dublin.

This is a complicated area. The North-South interconnector is a hugely important issue. Referring back to the North-South Ministerial Council last week, it was an issue that was raised there. There has been too much delay in respect of it, and I know the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is seeking to expedite it.

As regards the issue the Deputy raised in respect of data centres, we have to attract in international investment. If we start turning ourselves against that, saying there will be no more data centres, we will have a very negative impact on Ireland's reputation as a place where people can come to do business. I am very pleased with the progress I heard from the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, in respect of the private wires. It sounds like there will be very significant developments on it in the near future, and the Deputy will be kept closely apprised of it.

Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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I have a note here to welcome Mary Angela Downes and friends from County Limerick, who join us in the Gallery.