Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The Government has to lead by example on this and the public sector has been asked to turn down its thermostats to a maximum of 19°C and to turn off the power an hour or two before the end of the working day where that is feasible, reasonable and safe, which it would not be in a hospital, obviously. We have also asked that public sector buildings and bodies turn off display lighting at night, where it is not there for the purpose of safety. That should, of course, extend to the corporate sector. Just as the Government has a role to lead by example, the corporate sector has to do its share of the work and it can never be the case that we ask the public to do something that the Government would not do or the corporate sector would not be asked to do.

I agree that display advertising should be constrained and reduced. I will talk to the CRU about that. The regulator has come out with a set of proposed tariffs for the corporate sector that increase the cost for corporations. They are especially targeted at large energy users. There has been a public consultation on this, which is now closed. I am waiting to see what comes back from the CRU on this, but it will charge large energy users, such as data centres, more to use electricity during peak hours. It will also charge them more where there is any threat to the supply. It will increase the tariff when the wind drops and we are more dependent on gas than we usually are than on renewable energy. Large energy users are not happy about that. The corporate sector has to come to me in its pre-budget submissions. It is not happy about that, but it has to happen. There has to be solidarity between Government, the corporate sector and the public.