Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I am keen to see Endesa investing in our country and in power plants. That is in our interest. When the companies were coming into this country, one of the commitments I gave was that they were coming into a market where there is transparency and non-discriminatory arrangements. This was the crucial centrepiece of the commitment I gave to investors. They were entering a fair and competitive market. This is an important principle from which I do not want to divert. In hard case instances like this, where we see companies in different circumstances, those different circumstances are a vagary of market investment decisions rather than Government regulatory decisions. In the long run it would be much worse and act as a disincentive towards long-term investment. It is important to give a commitment, as the Government has done, to have a regulated competitive market to benefit all players equally. This is the single commitment I can give.