Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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158. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the current status of legislative and regulatory measures aimed at enabling private wire connections between renewable energy generators and end-users; if he will detail any interdepartmental workstreams or stakeholder consultations that have taken place since the last update to Dail Éireann; the indicative timeline for implementation, given the urgency of improving grid access for renewable energy projects that are essential to meeting Ireland’s climate and housing targets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30260/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I last updated the Dáil, via parliamentary question, on 22^nd and 27^th May, to state that it is my intention to bring a policy statement on private wires to Cabinet in the coming months, and the position has not changed since then. Developing a private wires policy is a priority for this Government and an action was included in the Programme for Government to expedite the delivery of this policy. This is a technically complicated area with a range of potential options. Work on the policy is ongoing within my Department. It is my intention to bring a Private Wires Policy to Cabinet in the near term.

As set out in the guiding principles which my Department published last year, Private Wires refers to private individuals or undertakings running their own electricity cables in order to transfer electricity from one site to another. Private Wires are separate to the national electricity grid.

There are however plans to increase the capacity of the national electricity grid and the CRU will by year-end approve the capital investment in the gird over the period 2026-2030, through the PR6 process. The Deputy may be interested to know that ESB Networks have published their PR6 Business Plan setting out their envisaged investment and which can be accessed via the ESB Networks website (www.esbnetworks.ie) .