Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I followed up on my previous notifications that there were financial implications and I notified the Ceann Comhairle in writing. He, not I, made the adjudication that a money message was required.

We have to be very clear when talking about the future, in particular about the next ten, 15 or 20 years. Up to 2050 and beyond, we will have a requirement for fossil fuels. We cannot just say we do not need them. We will need them and, even if we meet our targets in 2030, which would mean a move from 30% of energy produced through renewables to 70%, we still have a gap of 30% to make up. Looking out to 2050 and beyond, the important thing is how we manage that.

As I have said before, the Deputy's Bill is well-intentioned and it is important we recognise that. We also need to recognise that we have an all-of-Government approach to climate action which will be published in the coming weeks.

Within that we should be working to see how we can meet our targets. This Bill is well intentioned but at the end of the day, we have to make sure that we have security of supply. Why should we be looking at this from Ireland's point of view? Fossil fuels are not available in every country. Exports and imports are always in play. Do we want to get our gas or our oil for the next 20 or 30 years from fracked shale gas, from sources of which we have no knowledge, which would be a lot more damaging to the environment, or do we want a security of supply? If we have security of supply, we know how it will come into the country and how it will be used. As well as that, we will gain up to 55% in taxation to help us deliver what we require over the next 30 years, to which everybody aspires.