Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)

It should always be efficiency first. That is the first fuel, first saving, first and most important priority. I agree with the Deputy's basic point. We have not delivered at the scale and speed that I would like in the context of community-owned generation of renewable power. One of the advantages of renewable power is that it should allow for a more distributed, broadly owned energy sector. I do not have the exact figures for the projects that have been energised but I will get them and share them with the Deputy. I am sure that we share the common target of 500 MW of community-owned renewable power by the end of the decade.

I had a very good meeting with a variety of community-energy operators to try to get to the bottom of why we have had such difficulty. There are a number of reasons. One of the main ones is regarding the grid and the ability for community projects to sometimes get the financing and to get the grid connections funded and supported. This has been a particular difficulty. I believe the new SRESS scheme will be successful. There has been a great deal of very positive reaction to it. The scheme really does prioritise and benefit, to the best of our ability, community ownership. Grid access is the key. This summer, the CRU and the ESB will, I hope, be introducing new mechanisms by which we can prioritise community projects and make sure they get access to grid connections. Along with the SRESS, this should unlock the ability of community groups to scale up generation and efficiency.

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