I wish to raise the issue of how Ireland is responding to its obligations to balance its ability to generate sufficient power to satisfy its needs with its obligations in respect of decarbonisation and climate change. It is Government policy that the ESB's coal-burning power station at Moneypoint in County Clare will cease production by 2025. Moneypoint is an old coal-burning station, which at its full capacity has the capacity to provide 900 MW of power and which plays a very important role in electricity generation in Ireland. It provides a cheap, stable source of electricity. The closure of the plant at Moneypoint presents the Government with a major problem in maintaining sufficient production of reasonably priced energy for a growing economy while meeting its international climate change obligations. According to EUROSTAT, the cost of producing electricity in Ireland in 2017 was quite high. Burning coal leaves a huge carbon footprint, which results in Ireland facing large fines of up to €600 million for missing its carbon emission targets and climate change obligations. Emitting greenhouse gases comes at a price.

What will replace the power station at Moneypoint in 2025? How will the ESB replace its capacity to generate power if the station is closed completely? What are the plans in that regard? Can Moneypoint be converted into a station which uses an alternative source of energy such as biomass or gas? Can electricity generated from renewable sources such as offshore wind energy and tidal energy, which is available in abundance in the Shannon Estuary, be harnessed and channelled through Moneypoint? Can the station be used as a landfall location for electricity produced from such renewable sources?

Moneypoint is an important part of the electricity grid structure, the high-voltage lines of which radiate across the country. The question is whether it can generate enough renewable energy to replace that generated by coal. Will the Tánaiste give me an indication of what the Government plans to do in respect of the plant at Moneypoint, which will cease burning coal in six years? We need to be proactive on this matter and not wait until the last minute.

I am glad the Deputy asked this question because this action is one of a series of significant measures the Government is pursuing to reduce the amount of emissions coming from this country and its economy. Moneypoint, and energy generation generally, is a little different because it is in the traded sector and so does not have as direct an impact in terms of our national targets as do other emission sources. Having said that, it is inappropriate to produce power from coal any longer. We have to give the ESB the time to find viable alternatives that can use the significant grid infrastructure that connects Moneypoint across this country. The station is connected to two 400 kV lines and is the most significant piece of electricity grid infrastructure we have so we should be using it in the future to transport power around this island. However, we have to find alternatives to coal in order to do that. It is up to the ESB to work with the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to find alternatives that use the grid to its full capacity and that recognise the employment challenges that may come from a move away from generating power from coal.

There are multiple opportunities arising from renewables, both onshore and offshore; from gas, which is an awful lot cleaner than coal although it is still a carbon fuel from which we need to move away; and from biomass, where there certainly are opportunities. However it is up to the ESB to come up with viable commercial alternatives that can protect employment in the region and that can use the existing infrastructure, just as it is up to Bord na Móna to do so with respect to the transformation process in which it is involved. It is worth noting that the ESB announced this week that it is engaging in the development of a very significant offshore wind project off Dundalk. This will be a very significant contributor of renewable energy to the Irish grid in the future. This is the change that is happening. The use of coal to generate energy must end by 2025 but we need to use the infrastructure which has been built up over many years and which will still be part of our power solutions.

I thank the Tánaiste. He obviously understands the difficulties, particularly those facing Moneypoint. The question is really what are the alternatives? I know that the ESB is to produce a report on how it will use alternative energy sources in electricity generation at Moneypoint but we have to have a clear pathway in respect of how those changes are going to occur. There is potential for renewable energy, the question is whether there is going to be sufficient renewable energy which can be channelled through Moneypoint.

I have another question on an area in which the Tánaiste may be an expert. On Brexit and interconnectivity with the UK and Northern Ireland with regard to delivering electricity to this country, what will be the effects of Brexit on electricity sources in Ireland? Finally, the Tánaiste mentioned that this measure will have profound implications for employment in County Clare. The power station at Moneypoint is responsible for approximately 400 jobs in west Clare. How will those jobs be replaced when we move from coal to some other form of energy generation? Will they be protected? Will other employment opportunities be generated from Moneypoint?

Deputy Harty has raised many very valid questions. On Brexit, we plan to publish the heads of the legislation which is being prepared for a no-deal Brexit later on this afternoon. One of the 17 heads of that Bill addresses the single electricity market. It is not the only response required in that regard but an element of the response to the challenges we would face in respect of the single electricity market in the event of a no-deal Brexit is included in that legislation.

I am very familiar with Moneypoint. I have visited it on a number of occasions. I was previously the Opposition spokesperson on energy. Of course the ESB faces challenges in this area in terms of finding viable alternatives to coal, supporting its employees, and ensuring that the infrastructure that has been built and which connects Moneypoint remains a key positive factor in terms of grid management and electricity supply in the future. I believe that enormous opportunities for job growth in County Clare and the west coast generally will arise from offshore renewables in the future. The ESB will obviously come back to Government with a specific plan, as has Bord na Móna, with regard to how it proposes to move away from coal as a power source and towards alternative fuel sources which will be more climate-friendly.