Nicole Ryan (Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister of State for the time and effort he has put into this matter - I know it is not his brief per se - but the response did not deal with the core issue. It had nothing to with the price of milk, so to speak. I am talking about action No. 4 specifically.The issue is the people in Newmarket felt they just were not heard. They were just completely bypassed. It is a trend for rural areas. We would not put these kinds of projects in urban areas - people just would not accept it - but in rural Ireland we are supposed to just accept it, take it lying down and not have any issue with it. Nobody is opposed to energy or having renewable energy and climate action. Rural communities are more than welcoming of this. The problem is they are not consulted. It is done over their heads where people just give planning permission to these organisations and companies to make profit. Some of this electricity will not be seen in the community but it is the communities that have to carry the brunt of it and all the associated risks, especially a battery storage plant.