In the first instant then, does the government simply have to look at further tax measures to try to reduce the price of fuel?

Yes, they do.

Look, I think exceptional times call for exceptional measures.

Look, I suppose with regard to home heating oil, the options there are very limited because of the lower excise that's available on that fuel and the options that would have to be looked at there, Justin, is either a reduction or a removal of the carbon tax.

Now, the carbon tax does two things, Justin.

I suppose the carbon tax was initially set up, I suppose, to level the playing field economically for low carbon options versus fossil fuels.

That playing field has essentially been very much levelled at the moment and very much tilts in favour of non-fossil fuel options.

Should they be looking down at perhaps grants for second-hand electric vehicles for people maybe who couldn't afford to buy a new car?

Mm-hmm.

Uh, so really reliant on fossil fuels.

Uh, and, and the government at the time then just re- realized that, hey, you know what? We've got this wonderful natural resource in our rivers.

Uh, why don't we try and harness that and maybe, uh, capture some of that? And at the time, they looked around the, the world, and, uh, Siemens were doing interesting things with hydroelectricity, and, and the plan, think it's a long story, but the plan to, to put a dam on the, the Shannon, and in its day, it produced almost 100% of Ireland's electricity needs, which is remarkable, you know? And it was a huge, brave project.

Yeah.

It's gonna take 20 or 30 years because we're starting from a point that's really far back, right? You're, so we're starting from the point where we're one of the most fossil fuel-reliant economies in Northwest Europe, right? 80% of all the stuff that goes into our cars, our homes, our, our appliances is fossil fuel, so changing that takes time.

But again, again, when you look back to Ardnacrusha, uh, they knew it was gonna take time, you know? They, they, they knew this wasn't a, a short, sharp project.

It was an idea that invested in a future.

Um, I didn't even know they existed, these things, but they sound like they could be a great idea for people who maybe don't wanna invest in the expensive solar panels on their roof, and maybe have access to a garden or a balcony.

Uh, they are indeed, Ciara.

Look, I think this is one of those rare moments when we get to talk about something reasonably positive within the electricity sector and the energy sector in Ireland, and that's a good thing.

And look, as you say, look, balcony solar is grabbing huge headlines, particularly across the continent, mainly in Germany, where one in 10 households, as you said, now have installed balcony solar.

Now, the idea here is very similar in principle to residential solar, which is doing incredibly well here in Ireland, but slightly different in practice.

Uh, the way balcony solar or plug-in solar, they're both kind of the same thing.

The way they work is that people go into...

But you're saying I can also plug something into a plug in my house and it will feed electricity in?

What's happening and why can we look forward to a cut in energy prices?

Yeah, good morning, Shane.

Look, I suppose Ireland is kind of very unusual when it comes to our electricity power system when compared to other European countries.

We burn more natural gas than any other country in Northwest Europe to make electricity.

And then when we make that electricity, it costs a lot more to move it around because our grid is about four times longer than any other European country.

Now, the reason, Shane, look, why there's a small bit of optimism, and I will caveat this, it's a small bit of optimism in the market at the moment is the outlook for international wholesale natural gas prices looks relatively good.

But that's important for us in Ireland again because we generate so much more electricity from natural gas.

Just very quickly, why do we burn more natural gas than other countries? What do other countries use? Do they use more renewable energy sources?