I raise an issue to do with the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan. It does not relate to his double, strange PCR tests. We know we are dealing with a Covid crisis and, potentially, a Brexit Article 16 crisis. However, if the Taoiseach and his Government colleagues cannot keep the lights on or the houses warm this winter nor plan for industry and inward investment, that is the rock on which they will perish. I have serious concerns about this, which I have repeatedly raised. We are facing a perfect storm in energy supply. More than a decade ago, bad, horrendous politics and a lack of regulation in banking destroyed this country.

I have a deep concern, and I do not say this lightly, about how our energy market has been regulated over the last number of years. I would like the Taoiseach to listen to this and I would like him to look into it.

Information given to my colleague, Deputy Seán Sherlock, shows there were seven amber alerts on 28 October. In September, I asked the Taoiseach if he would guarantee he could keep the lights on. He could not answer that question. Two months later I ask him the same question. There are a number of issues he needs to be concerned about.

Under direction from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, in May, EirGrid put out a call for 200 MW of emergency power. That will cost €110 million. The plan was for these emergency gas operators to be in place for 22 weeks. The contract was awarded to ESB, but EirGrid messed up the tender. Another company, Tynagh Energy threatened to go to the High Court, claiming that the procurement process run by EirGrid was anti-competitive, so the plan was abandoned. This whole process was raised in the Dáil by the Taoiseach’s Member, last week, Deputy Barry Cowen. I want to acknowledge that he raised the process. There are serious issues here. The Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, who responded to Deputy Cowen last week had not a clue, basically. We need to find out more information about how €10 million was paid by EirGrid to ESB as a down payment for these emergency generators. How did this happen? Was it sanctioned by the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan? Where is the money now?

We also understand another tender is now being run for the same power. This is on top of the issues raised by Mick Clifford the Irish Examiner regarding Equinor calling out of offshore wind generation. It is on top of the fact that the marine area planning Bill that is so delayed; the fact that we cannot get solar farms onto the grid; we have not made progress on microgeneration; and new technologies, such as the Silvermines hydroelectric plant in my constituency, has not proceeded.

I want to ask the Taoiseach these questions. Will he now, two months later, guarantee that we will not have any outages of power over this winter? Can he confirm details about the €10 million paid to the ESB by EirGrid for a contract that was then pulled? When was it paid and has the money being refunded?

Thank you Deputy, your time is up.

Finally, can the Taoiseach give some comfort to those renewable energy projects, such solar and offshore, that the regulatory system will be fit for purpose? To date, and over the last five years, it seems that has not been.

The Deputy opened his remarks quite properly about talking about the need for regulatory frameworks and the importance of regulation. That is exactly where we are on energy security. There is a regulatory framework governing the provision of a secure supply of electricity.

It does not work.

This is by the CRU and EirGrid. Government no longer has legal powers to intervene directly and do what it likes with the energy markets.

Excuses.

The Commission for Regulation of Utilities and EirGrid have advised - as the Deputy knows because I have said this already I the Dáil - that there was a short to medium term risk to electricity security of supply, and that there was an increased likelihood of more frequent system alerts, system emergencies and potential for some electricity customers to lose power in winter of 2021 to 2022 if action was not taken. The Department and the Minister are working closely with the Commission for Regulation of Utilities and EirGrid to take the necessary action to address the issue and to ensure continuous secure supplies of electricity in Ireland for the coming winter and the years ahead.

We know about the two gas stations that were out of commission. They have been brought back into commission. A group has now been established at assistant secretary level, again including the Commission of Regulation of Utilities and EirGrid, to continue to monitor the national response. It has been identified for additional temporary generation. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities and EirGrid are working on that basis to procure additional supply.

On the specific issue that the Deputy raised about the tender that went out, I will secure and provide any information that he requires. I would not jump to conclusions until-----

I am not jumping to conclusions.

Well, the Deputy said it was "messed up".

It did not go ahead.

It did not go ahead. Again, let us wait for the full, transparent presentation of information to be made------

The High Court decided that. It did not decide but threatened to decide it.

It is a different matter.

The Taoiseach knows what I am saying.

The courts interpret decisions that are taken and so on.

The court did not decide it. It threatened to.

The issue for all of us in the Oireachtas is that we have vested the statutory responsibility in the Commission for Regulation of Utilities to monitor the security of the supply of electricity and take all measures that it considers necessary to protect security of supply. We have a strong record as a country with regard to the security of the electricity supply. We are doing everything that we possibly can to ensure security not just this winter but more critically for next winter and the winter beyond. This is a challenge across Europe.

We do not technically have an energy problem. We have a great deal of potential energy in this country, given the amount of wind that we have. Our problem is getting it into the grid. There is potential but we do not actually have it. The Taoiseach knows, more than anyone else in this House, about bad politics and regulation failure when it came to the banking industry. We have an issue here with regard to energy. Too many companies are pulling out. We are all for regulation but if the regulation is not working, it creates a crisis, which is what we are heading into. Ordinary working families will pay for all of this because their bills will go up because of this laissez-faire attitude. The Taoiseach has given me assurances that all the information regarding the down-payment of €10 million by EirGrid, sanctioned by the Minister, Deputy Ryan's, Department, will be provided. What assurances can the Taoiseach give to companies that want to get access to the grid over the next six months to a year that they will be able to do so, through solar, offshore, microgeneration and new technologies? They are frustrated. It will not just affect the heating of the houses or whether lights go on. It will also affect whether industry will come to this country. That is coming down the track rapidly.

The temporary closure of the Huntstown and Whitegate plants were key factors in the alerts that we experienced earlier. Huntstown is back and Whitegate will return in the coming weeks. The possibility of that emergency has been reduced. The Deputy says "we are all for regulation" but I do not hear what the Deputy is suggesting. Should we change the regulatory framework that we currently have?

Did the banking regulation work 15 years ago? When something is seen, it has to be called out.

We need something more concrete and substantive.

Call it out.

I take the Deputy's point about the absolute necessity of regulatory frameworks.

The lights going off.

We have an operating market in place for the security of electricity supply. I have to work with the regulatory framework that I have inherited and is in place. I will do that. We will do everything that we possibly can to reduce any alerts relating to the security of supply. The Deputy has referred to the Maritime Area Planning Bill. That is before the Oireachtas and will be passed before December if we get the agreement of everybody in the House. One of my priorities coming into government was to pass that Bill. I appreciate the Deputy's support in that.

It will not be a problem.