Just before I start, I wish to pay tribute to Eileen Rushe, who has sadly passed away. I send my condolences to her son, Seamus, and her other family. I wish to thank her for all her work in promoting the HPV vaccine. I also ask the Taoiseach, at this juncture, to look again at the issue of the CervicalCheck tribunal, which we know is not functioning. Many of us have raised the issue in this House.

Today I wish to raise an issue that many people in Ireland are concerned about. That concern has been multiplied by the interviews given by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications today in relation to where we are going from an energy point of view. In multiple interviews this morning, he could not say that he could guarantee that the lights will stay on this winter. I ask the Taoiseach the same question. For everybody in Ireland watching now, in his reply, will he guarantee that the lights will stay on this winter? It is a fairly simple question.

I was in Brighton over the last few days at the Labour Party conference. I passed many fuel depots and saw cars queuing up for petrol. Obviously, because of Brexit, the UK has sleepwalked into a crisis. I am concerned that because of our lack of long-term planning, we are sleepwalking into a crisis here when it comes to energy. Anyone watching this debate today will be very worried. I must ask a number of questions. Is it because we have a dysfunctional system that EirGrid and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications are not talking to one another? How is it that two gas-fired plants went down at the same time? We all know when to get our cars serviced. How come these two plants went down at the same time? It has never been explained. I asked the Tánaiste last week if heavy industry was being issued with stock requests to manage the grid. Amazingly, as the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, he did not know the answer. When IDA Ireland is attracting companies here, and I have often complimented it for the work it does, do we actually index the load requirements of the industry we are bringing in? Do we do a cost-benefit analysis, for want of a better phrase? We have had our debate on data centres and we know we have to manage that. Is the Department of Transport at the table in the conversations on the whole energy issue? We are expecting people to buy more electric vehicles in January. We want people to move to heat pumps. This will all increase load. On the one hand, we are asking them to do this, and on the other, we are saying we might not have enough electricity to be able to ensure they work. At the end of the day, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, has warned that people will face higher energy costs. What are we going to do in order to help them?

Unlike the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications this morning, will the Taoiseach guarantee that the lights will stay on this coming winter? Can he explain how we got to this point and how short-termism got us here? Finally, what regulations is he going to bring in to ensure people will be able to afford to heat their homes this winter?

First of all, I thank the Deputy for the question, because it is a very important issue that is facing the people of the country today. As the Deputy outlined, it is the responsibility of the CRU and EirGrid to ensure the right balance of electricity supply and demand. When they briefed me and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications on Monday night, they assured us that everything necessary is being done to guarantee supply. The generation capacity statement published by EirGrid today highlights two concerns, the first of which is short-term pressures this winter due primarily, as the Deputy has stated, to two gas-fired plants currently undergoing maintenance and going out. This has been complicated by Covid-related delays in terms of getting the actual maintenance work done because of people travelling into the country. However, we have been assured that these plants are due back in operation in October and November. That will ensure supply throughout this winter. Any short-term problems will be managed by working with large energy users who have their own back-up power supply. That answers the Deputy's question about the lights going out. The dramatic question is whether the lights will be on or off.

Answer it, then. It is not dramatic at all.

The basic pragmatic response to any short-term problems that arise will be demand management. We will work with large energy users that have their own back-up power supply. That is how that issue will be dealt with.

Secondly, there is a generation gap between 2022 and 2025 because planned capacity increases will not come on stream, while demand has increased more than expected. We have been assured by the CRU and EirGrid that they have plans in place to bridge that gap, including extending the operation of existing generators - that is going to have to happen - as well as providing temporary generation capacity and ensuring future auctions will be successful in bringing new gas-fired capacity into the system. There will also be new interconnectors to France and Britain, while battery facilities will help to store renewable energy. The CRU is also developing a new data centre connection policy to ensure their operation is aligned with supply. There will be greater obligations on the operators of data centres in respect of the issue.

The Government will be briefed regularly by the CRU and EirGrid on the roll-out of this work programme. We will not hesitate to take any further steps, such as emergency legislation or other intervention, if we are advised it is necessary. We will also continue to make clear, through the national development plan and the new climate action plan, that gas-fired generation capacity is an essential part of the energy transition. This will reinforce the confidence of investors in new capacity. These new steps will ensure that Ireland remains a location with reliable energy supplies which investors, businesses and households can have confidence in.

I also wish to state that we have a long track record of meeting the needs of foreign direct investment, and we will maintain that record. As we implement our ambitious renewable energy plans, including offshore wind, we will actually be in a very strong position by the end of the decade.

Finally, I wish to join Deputy Kelly in extending my condolences to the family of Eileen Rushe at this very difficult time for them. I thank Eileen for her extraordinary campaigning in relation to the HPV vaccine.

The Taoiseach should not worry about the dramatics. It is not about dramatics; it is just a very simple question. Will he give the public-----

I gave the answer.

The Taoiseach did not answer the question directly; he read a script. He knew this question was going to be asked this morning. Will he just give the public an assurance, a guarantee, that we will have enough energy this winter and that the lights will stay on? It is a very simple question. I am sick and tired of short-termism. We need to think about the longer term. What new technologies are being considered? Where is the plan for microgeneration? Where is the plan for battery storage technologies? We have only Turlough Hill. A plan for a battery storage project in my constituency, at Silvermines, is noted as one of national and European importance. Where are we going in regard to these technologies? We really need to know that the lights will stay on and that there is a long-term plan that will deal with the issue over the coming years because it seems like we have sleepwalked into this and it has just been sprung upon us at this moment. The public and businesses need assurance.

As Taoiseach, I am saying to the Deputy that the Government will ensure every effort will be made and that everything that needs to be done will be done. In respect of any short-term problems between now and when the two plants are back in operation in October, any issues that arise will be dealt with through demand management. That means working with large energy users that have back-up generators. That is how it will be dealt with. It will be dealt with calmly and pragmatically that way.

A key point I am making is that gas-fired generation capacity is an essential part of the energy transition. The last two options did not succeed in bringing players in. The next option will have to. A clear roadmap has to be laid out in respect of anybody interested in that.

On the issue of demand, data centres comprise just one aspect. There are two big changes in the world. One concerns data. There will be an ongoing need for data centres all around the globe but we must have conditions attached and obligations concerning prioritisation and so on.

The Taoiseach is way over time.

However, there has to be the long-term approach that the Deputy has identified, which we are committed to taking.