Mark Wall (Labour)
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I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter. I also thank the Minister of State for being here to discuss the issue.

I know from conversations with colleagues throughout the country, particularly in south Kildare, that there have been an awful lot of unplanned power outages in recent weeks and months. There are considerable knock-on effects for families as a result. One of the biggest effects relates to medical devices. Along with colleagues of mine, I have been contacted by a number of families who cannot plan to use medical devices because of the increasing number of power outages that are occurring in their areas. One such family was using a sleep assistance machine and it has cut out on a regular basis in recent months. There is a built-in danger for that person. There is a reason the person is using the machine and needs the power. All of these outages are unplanned, with no notice given, and are causing a lot of grief for that family.

The affected area seems to stretch from Rathangan and Monasterevin in my area to Athgarvan and the Wicklow border. There is also an issue for those who are working from home. We have encouraged people to work from home and many people have enjoyed that experience and, importantly, need that experience. However, they are finding on too many days that they cannot work from home and are rushing into work to try to get back up live, onto the Internet and working again. It is frustrating. It is happening too often at this stage and an explanation needs to be given by the Government and EirGrid. I have mentioned previously that EirGrid's web page states: "EirGrid develops, manages and operates the electricity grid in Ireland". It is responsible for making sure everyone has electricity when and where they need it. I have fielded calls on this issue from people from the Minister of State's own county of Laois in recent months. It seems that we do not have the power for these people when they need it most. The most important aspect is the unplanned nature of what is happening. Families cannot plan. Those who require medical devices cannot use them. Those who are working from home are struggling to ensure they can continue working from home and do not have to travel back into their offices, where they were prior to working from home.

I want to read into the record some of the many comments I have received in recent weeks and months. One correspondent told me that the power was out again in Monasterevin without any reason or explanation. My correspondent told me that the same had happened on a Friday two weeks previously. My correspondent said there was no consideration for anyone or for those who have days when they work from home and called the situation absolutely ridiculous. Another correspondent told me they live in the Athgarvan area. Two people in the household are working from home and they feel that when no notice of outages is given, it is very frustrating. Another correspondent told me that in the past three months, the Mountrice and Lackagh area has had five planned power outages. There was a planned outage on the day prior to the correspondent contacting me and another outage without explanation on the day they made contact. My correspondent noted that we pay the highest prices for electricity in the EU and that the providers are making super profits but none of them are being reinvested in the infrastructure. My correspondent stated it is time for the Government to demand better from those companies. That is the reason I have tabled this Commencement matter. I hope the Minister of State will give us some reassurance that the unplanned power outages are being looked at by the Government, EirGrid and everybody involved in the provision of power in this country. I hope we can provide some solutions to those in all areas but particularly in the south Kildare area.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising the issue of the power outages in his area. I am taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

I also acknowledge the fact that we are dealing with areas of south Kildare, including Athy, Kildare, Monasterevin and Newbridge, and Portarlington in my area. I am conscious of that.As the Senator will know, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities - as an independent regulator which is accountable to a committee of the Oireachtas and not the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications - has been assigned responsibility for the electricity market. This includes the supervision of the electricity system operators EirGrid, responsible for transmission and ESB Networks, responsible for distribution, who are tasked with building, safely operating and maintaining the fit for purpose electrical system.

One area where this can be dealt with is through the Oireachtas committee because, by definition, the regulator is independent of the Minister and the Minister has no direct line of authority over the regulator. The Oireachtas committee, however, is where they answer to the House. It is important that avenue be followed up.

As I said, my colleague, the Minister for the environment, does not have a role in this area and it is carried out directly by EirGrid and ESB Networks or other infrastructure developers to particular sites, routes or technologies. Our electricity grid is made up of two interlinked networks. The first is the transmission network, which is organised by EirGrid and allows transport of electricity around the country. That is through the very big power lines we see covering the country. The second is the distribution network which is operated by ESB Networks which brings power to communities, businesses and people's homes.

In July 2023, EirGrid published Shaping Our Electricity Future in an update of the roadmap for the development of the transmission grid out to 2030 to deliver renewable energy and include the integration of offshore wind into the grid. Last year, ESB Networks launched its network for net zero strategy which outlines its commitment to future proofing Ireland's electricity network and making the goal of net zero by 2050 a reality. Work has commenced on price review six, which will see the CRU sanction the investment in the grid from the years 2026 to 2030 and, while a decision is not expected to be made until Q3 2025, the regulator published their strategy paper to inform and seek comments from the public on their approach to deciding the funding and investment over this five year period. The companies involved invest and then the regulator reviews it and agrees a price structure for the forthcoming period. The current price review five is in effect until the end of next year and saw the CRU sanction a €4 billion capital investment in the grid over the four year period 2021-2025.

The Senator has asked about the outages in his region and we all know about planned outages. These are normally carried out by EirGrid where there are new connections and lines to be brought in. People understand that and there is always good notice for those things weeks in advance. The second type is unplanned which can happen for a variety of reasons and I will come back to that in a moment. I share the Senator's concern regarding people on medical devices in their home who do not have backup power for their facilities when they are needed. That can cause difficulty from a medical point of view if the machine cuts out and they have to go back and start again having been half way through the process. It can also cause difficulty for people working from their home.

Mark Wall (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive reply. I am aware of the Minister's role in this but I also believe he should be aware of what is happening on the ground. I appreciate the CRU is an independent authority and it should be so but the Minister is responsible for energy provision in this country. If there are continual unplanned outages in certain areas of the country - and I believe from speaking to colleagues that this is not just in my own area but right throughout the State - the Minister should take some responsibility for that. I will ensure it is raised at the committee, as the Minister of State has mentioned in his reply, but I ask the Minister of State to go back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and ask him to make sure he is doing everything in his power to ensure the power that comes into our homes is available to people when they are paying such high prices. We know we have some of the highest electricity costs in this country so I am asking the Minister of State to bring this back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan.

I made contact with Airtricity and the ESB and I will also make contact with the committee but it is very important that the Minister knows exactly what is happening on the ground. As the Minister of State said himself, it is not just in south Kildare this is happening, it is right throughout the State. We need to ensure people can use those medical devices and people can continue to work from home.

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I will put this on record so people listening and following this will get an understanding of what we are talking about. "Unplanned" means nobody knows this would happen until it actually does, as opposed to planned outages. I note that in Kildare town and out towards Monasterevin and Ballykelly, people have experienced four unplanned outages in recent months. The first one was caused by farm machinery damaging a stay and bringing the conductor to the ground. I believe the second incident was caused by a contractor damaging a cable during earthworks. The third and fourth incidents were caused by small sections of the overhead wire looking weak and damaged and needing to be dealt with as an emergency. We also had a situation where up to 2,000 people were affected because an overhead line was hanging very low. It was deemed a danger and had to be dealt with in an unplanned manner. It had to be done now and not next week. Those are examples of what happens. ESB Networks does its best, but unfortunately sometimes things can happen. There needs to be provision made on an ongoing basis for those who need power for medical devices or working from home.