Last Friday, the European Council took the decision to reduce our dependence on Russian gas and to address high energy costs. As natural gas is such a key element of electricity generation here in Ireland, that decision has the potential to reduce costs here. However, we have no way of storing natural gas in the short term. We cannot capitalise on this Council decision, even though we have two potential facilities off the Cork coast, namely, the decommissioned facilities in Kinsale and the Seven Heads gas fields. This is because Ireland has failed to plan for such an eventuality. The Minister's Department has been looking at the potential of utilising these decommissioned facilities for the last five years. Will the Minister expedite this analysis to help to reduce energy and electricity costs?

"Yes" is the answer to that. We are going to have to expedite everything. However, I do not want to hold out false hope. My understanding, without having come to a conclusion yet, is that there are technical issues not just for the pipeline, which will be decommissioned, but also around the amount of cushion gas that would have to be put into that field and its geological formation. It is not certain that either of those Cork fields will be ideal for gas. That is some of the advice I am hearing. We will have to conclude that analysis quickly as part of that European gas storage initiative.