Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations and their input. What Deputy Durkan said with regard to what we need to do is interesting. One of the issues I would like to ask about is energy costs. Would the witnesses say some of our energy costs are related to the fact we have not put in place bridging measures when trying to get rid of fossil fuels, turf burning and so on? There has been a rush of blood to stop all of that bad stuff without actually having the transitional arrangements in place, so we have left ourselves with a gap and we are now at the mercy of Russia and other places to supply us with gas. The Corrib gas field off the coast of Mayo has been in decline for a number of years yet there has been a reluctance and we have frightened away gas and oil exploration, when I think we have time to run on that yet. It seems that we have had a rush of blood to the head and we have got rid of stuff. By the same token, if someone is buying a new car, whether electric or diesel, as was mentioned earlier, they will not sell their car until the new car is on the forecourt and they can go and collect it. We have created a gap which has created a shortage of energy, and this is also the case internationally, I believe. Now, we are relying on people who hold the strings and who may not be very adept at sharing what they have, or who see potential in it. I would like to get the comments of both witnesses on this philosophy that I hold.