Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Since the Government closed Shannonbridge and Lanesborough peat power plants in the middle of the country, it has come to light that it has been importing woodchip from Brazil. As has been said already, it has been importing peat from Latvia and it also imported coal from Russia to keep the Tarbert plant going. Since Shannonbridge and Lanesborough were closed, the cost of electricity has gone up every day. A new compensation payment scheme for farmers - the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES - stipulates that if you cut turf on your land, your farm payments will be cut. How can the Government justify this, in light of the fact that we are all under the one sky whether we are in Brazil, China, Russia, Latvia or anywhere else? Are farmers going to be penalised for cutting turf on their land?

See this speech in context