Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail)

I welcome this Bill. I thank the Minister for giving such a comprehensive outline of the measures contained within it. Delivery of critical infrastructure is key for the economic and social well-being of this country. This €1.5 billion investment is significant and will help with the delivery of that critical infrastructure. The Minister outlined projects such as extra housing, which is very badly needed, and the MetroLink project. This investment will help to deliver that. Electricity infrastructure is crucial for our growing population. The Minister outlined how our electricity demands are going to double over the coming years. That is really significant. As we are learning to work smarter and have a more modern economy, this electricity infrastructure is vital.As we move away from fossil fuels, it will become more vital. This is welcome.

I do not need to tell the Minister the challenges communities across north county Dublin have faced with power outages. There has been unprecedented investment in housing in north county Dublin, which is of course welcome, but extra houses give rise to pressures on the electricity grid. Communities in Lusk, Donabate and, in particular, Rush have dealt with significant outages. The situation has improved, but it requires further significant improvement. I know the Minister is very aware of that. The investment is timely and I am glad it is going to happen early. I am glad pre-legislative scrutiny has been waived and the investment can get going and deliver for people.

The resilience of the grid is key. There are more frequent and fiercer storms due to climate change, which means our grid has to be far more resilient. This investment, it is to be hoped, will ensure that. Of course, the future will see more frequent weather events, which will put pressure on our grid.

The connection of new sources of renewable energy will be facilitated by the Bill. This will contribute to our resilience as a country in terms of renewable sources of energy, which will lead to a more secure geopolitical situation for us. That is to be welcomed. Of course, the underpinning of critical infrastructure outlined in our recent national development plan will be supported by this investment.

I appreciate that the Minister is acting as urgently as possible. He mentioned that the investment will allow the ESB to achieve the best possible rate for electricity and borrow at the most competitive rates. This will, of course, benefit customers. The Minister will be aware that Irish customers are paying, on average, far higher rates than the EU average for energy. It is something I hope he can examine over the coming weeks and months because we are in a very difficult situation at the moment with the rise in the cost of living. Of course, energy prices are key to that. I ask the Minister to come back to the House at a later stage for a debate on energy poverty. That would be very worthwhile. I commend the work of the Minister on the Bill. I also commend the Bill to my colleagues. We will obviously support it.