Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Scahill for raising this matter. I apologise that the Minister is not here. I appreciate the Senator's comments on the importance of Ministers addressing these issues when Senators raise them. I am aware Senator Scahill has been very active in raising this matter.

The Minister has asked me to make the following statement. At the beginning of this year Storm Éowyn caused unprecedented electricity outages and exposed critical vulnerabilities in our grid system arising from unmanaged vegetation and the proximity of forestry to infrastructure. Following the storm and consultation with utility operators, the Minister has directed officials at the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment to explore legislative provisions to safeguard electricity infrastructure when passing through forestry. Heads of the Bill were approved by the Government for priority drafting on the 29 July.

The electricity (supply)(amendment) Bill will update the Electricity (Supply) Act 1927 to provide for enhanced vegetation management powers for ESB Networks. It will provide a statutory basis for the establishment and maintenance of forestry corridors - areas within a given distance of the electricity network within which forestry vegetation and related activities can be restricted by law. The Bill will protect the rights of affected landowners by establishing a framework for compensation. It will also attach maintenance responsibilities to landowners for the upkeep of forestry corridors, with backstop powers for ESB Networks to intervene where required. The Bill will uphold our environmental obligations under European law, confirming the applicability of the habitats and birds directives. It will also outline screening thresholds for environmental impact assessments, in keeping with the requirements of the Planning and Development Acts.

The Department is working with legal counsel from the Office of the Attorney General and officials from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to progress drafting, ensuring consistency with the forestry licensing regime established under the Forestry Act 2014. In drafting this legislation, the Department will engage with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the Bill protects the rights of landowners and is in keeping with Ireland's afforestation and environmental goals. Consultation on specific aspects of legislation, including the dimensions of corridors and principles for engaging with landowners and compensation, will include multiple Departments and bodies and the wider forestry and landowner representative bodies through a series of workshops. Members should note that these works are not expected to result in direct costs to the Exchequer, as costs associated with improvements to grid resilience are typically covered by network tariffs set as part of periodic price reviews which are under the oversight of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities.

In parallel with this legislation, in the wake of Storm Éowyn the Government directed ESB Networks to prepare a winter 2025 resilience plan. This plan was published in April and implementation continues. Post-storm patrols of the transmission and 38 kV network have been completed, with the vast majority of priority hazards made safe. The survey of the medium-voltage network is complete, with high-priority resilience issues identified. Analysis of customers most affected by treefall has identified priority areas for remediation. Timber harvesters were procured and began to cut timber during the summer. Replenishment of ESB Networks' emergency stocks of spare parts and materials to double its previous capacity is now 80% complete. Medium-term staffing and contractor resources are to be increased through the provision of targeted training programmes via the education and training boards. To address capacity shortages, the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment have progressed permits for skilled workers from outside the EU to advance urgent forestry work.

ESB Networks is leading a working group to establish formal arrangements with European distribution system operators for mutual aid during extreme weather. An agreement is drafted with ratification targeted for October. External consultants have been appointed to carry out a review of international storm experiences. Meanwhile, ESB Networks is currently concluding a formal review of its response to Storm Éowyn.