Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I take on board what the Minister of State is saying. In reference to Deputy O'Rourke saying that the market conditions are not favourable in the context of enticing renewable energy companies to invest here, we all know that the reasons do not relate to the price for the auctions; it is the fact that it takes too long to get projects through our planning system. We need An Bord Pleanála and the environmental NGOs that have to make submissions to the planning process to be resourced. We know that the delays in grid connections are also cited as a problem. We need to fix things within our renewable energy market. As I said, the French Government does not have any concerns about attracting renewable energy to France on the basis of the €100 per megawatt hour cap. We could use it to maximise the amount of money that we are recovering from these very profitable businesses and that could be used to help struggling households. I do not accept that €100 is not a fair cap.