I thank Deputies for their contributions. This Bill, as we know, is technical in nature and provides for the integration of Ervia into Gas Networks Ireland, GNI, so that it can become a single entity called Gas Networks Ireland. The Bill provides for amendments to the Gas Acts so as to facilitate integration and the transfer of functions, assets, rights, liabilities, staff and records from Ervia to GNI, as well as providing for the corporate governance arrangements relating to GNI in terms of shareholding arrangements, board and chief executive arrangements and annual reporting and accounting provisions. These governance arrangements are being provided for in primary legislation rather than constitutional documents, which will enhance transparency and accountability. The Bill before the House today will form the last part of the Government's decision from 2020 on the separation of GNI from Ervia and the dissolution of Ervia.
I will take this opportunity to respond to questions raised by Deputies yesterday. As this is a technical Bill and is mostly about changing the name of the company from one to another, Deputies took the opportunity to ask general questions about gas which is fair enough. I will answer them insofar as I can.
There was a question about GMC Utilities and the strike action that is happening. This dispute has been jointly referred to the Labour Court, with a hearing scheduled for next Monday, 2 October. Strike action has been suspended pending the Labour Court process. The industrial action did not impact the supply of gas. The strike action was initially proposed in May last year and primarily relates to attempts by GMC Utilities to introduce new work practices and a claim by some sections of the workforce that a pay increase is required prior to entering discussion on such changes. The Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, has interceded and is facilitating discussions between the parties. SIPTU has suspended strike action while these talks are ongoing. In the first phase of industrial action, a number of emergency response calls were received, which is absolutely normal, all of which have been dealt with using the regular resources of GMC Utilities. Therefore, external subcontractors which were in place as a contingency measure were not required.
There were questions about the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, regulating price control and the security of supply report status. The security of supply report is due for publication in the next couple of weeks. I answered questions about that earlier today. There are also questions about the RESS 3 auction. Ireland has made considerable progress in decarbonising our electricity sector over the past decade or so, the major reason for this being the construction of renewable generation sources and their successful integration into the electricity grid. Onshore wind continues to be the dominant form of renewable generation, and solar photovoltaic is a growing source and is rapidly transforming our energy system. Ireland has immense potential for offshore wind generation which will start to be realised in the second half of this decade.
The year 2022 was a record one for renewable connections to our electricity grid and 700 MW of new renewable generation capacity were added. We expect that Ireland will have approximately 6 GW of renewable energy generation connected to the grid by the end of 2023, as the remaining RESS 1 projects reach their final milestone and early and early RESS 2 projects reach commercial operation. Further renewable generation will be delivered through corporate power purchase agreements.
On the topic of registered gas installers and whether we can use installers from other jurisdictions, the Registered Gas Installers, RGI, scheme is a matter for the CRU. Department officials will follow up on the representation made by Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú from constituents about access to the RGI scheme.
Deputy Ivana Bacik made a point regarding the Bill's provision for retaining the transfer of staff pay and superannuation conditions. GNI has a vital role to play in our decarbonisation efforts, but we need to see it equipped to scale up our transition from non-renewable carbon intensive sources to greener renewable sources. The national gas directive, the gas package, will provide the opportunity to set out the decarbonisation of the gas network and the transition to renewable energy. The Department has also published a hydrogen strategy and is developing a biomethane strategy.
Deputy Leddin asked whether GNI is a public sector body under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act. GNI is a relevant body under that Act. It must carry out its functions with regard to the climate action plan, long-term climate action strategy, national adaptation framework and objective of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Deputy Leddin also asked a question relating to why we have a 5% shareholding for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications rather than a figure of 10%, 20% or 30%. Regarding shareholding, the EU directive does not allow the Minister to be the majority shareholder. There is a requirement that 95% be retained by other State bodies in terms of governance and increasing the percentage would have no bearing on the Minister's remit regarding climate and energy policy. The Minister will continue to be the lead Minister in this regard. That is a way of saying that according to EU law, the Minister cannot be the majority shareholder. Beyond the control functions, it is not important or relevant and is, in fact, moot what percentage of the shareholding is held by the Minister.
The point was also made by Deputy Leddin that the Bill may be missing an opportunity to ensure that our national provider, GNI, is aligned with the national climate objectives and legally binding carbon budgets. In this Bill, we have to ensure the functions of GNI are updated and aligned with the Government's decarbonisation objectives. In the case of the national gas directive, the gas package will provide the opportunity to set out the decarbonisation of the gas network and the transition to renewable energy. There is a range of policy measures in the Department, such as the hydrogen and biomethane strategies.
Deputy Paul Murphy pointed out that GNI proposals include 14,000 new domestic connections and 12,000 industrial and commercial connections, and asked how many of these connections will be data centres.
The Government has published the statement on the role of data centres in Ireland's enterprise strategy. We updated the data centre strategy last year. It specifies the rules whereby new data centres can be connected to the grid or receive planning permission. Those rules are focused on ensuring that new data centres do not affect our security of supply and do not prevent us from reaching our climate targets.
Deputy Naughten said that GNI should come under the remit of the Minister with responsibility for energy as do other energy networks in this country. This is a similar point to that made by Deputy Leddin. The rationale for the ratios of the shareholding among Ministers goes back to when the European gas markets were unbundling. Historically, there would have been a national company - in our case, Bord Gáis Éireann - that was responsible for the supply and transmission of gas. To create competition in supply, the EU introduced the gas package where we had to split the company that operates the pipelines, which has to charge a service fee to competitors that supply. In Ireland, Flogas, SSE Airtricity and ESB compete and buy gas and pay the public service obligation, PSO, contribution. The reason for this unbundling is that if, for instance, Bord Gáis Éireann energy was not sold and was part of the same company, the fear was the company that owned the grid would give it preferential treatment. It might be in the same building and it would give it access if there was a constraint. The fear was that it would not have equal access. They had to have separation. Several companies that use the gas network in Ireland, for example, the ESB and Bord na Móna, are under one Minister's control. Therefore, the Minister cannot have control on both sides because other parties might complain that this is unfair.
Regarding the shareholding, the European directive does not allow the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to be the majority shareholder. This is due to the Minister's ownership role in ESB and the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform's ownership roles in Bord na Móna and Coillte. Therefore, neither Minister is able to become the majority shareholding for GNI. This has no effect on the Minister's policy role as lead on energy-related matters.
A point was raised by a number of Deputies about involving the Comptroller and Auditor General in the audit of GNI on the basis that large quantities of public money would be invested in GNI and that, therefore, there should be something beyond external audit and the Comptroller and Auditor General should be involved. Ervia, which is becoming GNI, does not require public investment or public capital. It is entirely self-funding, is profitable and by law, its accounts are laid before the Dáil so it does not involve any spending of public money. Therefore, the Comptroller and Auditor General is not involved.
Deputy Michael Healy-Rae made some very complimentary comments about the Green Party and its achievements in Government. I thank him for his kind remarks. While I am thanking people, I acknowledge the significant work of the Attorney General, his officials and industry stakeholders who worked with my Department to draft this important legislation. I extend my appreciation to the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action, which conducted prelegislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the Bill earlier this year. The committee's report was published in July and was considered in the drafting of this Bill. I thank Deputies for their interest and look forward to discussing the Bill in detail on Committee Stage.