Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. It is long overdue and it requires the Minister to conduct oil emergency planning and obliges oil companies to co-operate with the Department and public bodies in the creation of such a plan. It will establish a centralised register of oil companies, both retail and wholesale, and give extra powers to the Minister for Transport relating to the renewable transport fuel obligation scheme and a biofuel levy under the National Oil Reserves Agency Act. This will allow the Minister to specify the level of ethanol in petrol. It would also provide for a number of certificates that can be awarded for certain renewable transport fuels to incentivise their supply.

We in Sinn Féin support the Bill in principle but we have reservations about the extent of powers being given to the Minister for Transport. There must be sufficient accountability to the Oireachtas. Other colleagues have said we will table amendments to the Bill. The powers being given to the Minister are significant. We are in extraordinary times due to the war in Ukraine with the effect this has had on fuel supply. It is important these powers be kept under review. The public is well aware of the Government's failure to adequately respond to the cost-of-living crisis, particularly in respect of the cost of fuel. We saw last year that the Government was slow to react to the struggles of ordinary workers and families. Sinn Féin argued, throughout the crisis, that taxes charged by the Government at the pump should be reduced to the greatest extent permissible. In our alternative budget, we proposed excise duty changes that would have reduced the cost of 1,000 l of oil by €118.

Years of mismanagement by the Government and its failure to adequately manage our energy system have left us in a position where we are far too dependent on liquid fuel. If the Government had prepared better, delivered more renewable energy over the past decade, we would not be so exposed. If the Government had supported more families to transition from kerosene for home heating oil, we would not be in this position. If the Government had gone the extra mile - no pun intended - to support the transition away from petrol and diesel cars, we would not face this problem. If the Government had delivered gas storage, which has been recommended for years in the energy security review, we would not be here today trying to close the gate after the horse has bolted. The Government's record is one of failure both in addressing the energy security crisis and the climate crisis that we are now facing because of it. It is time to call an election so that Sinn Féin can deliver real change rather than the constant firefighting that is going on across this Chamber floor.

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