Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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I am also aware from parliamentary party meetings that the unveiling of a complete climate action plan is imminent. With respect to Deputy Smith and others, whose bona fides are very sound, given the recommendations of the committee, the assembly and the student movement, it would be wise to wait for the climate action plan, to have buy-in to it and to make sure that any proposals we make are made in the context of that plan. We should go for the holistic approach and then everything becomes a subset of that and is open to amendment and discussion.

It is not fanciful to bring geopolitics into this. We do not know what the geopolitical situation will be. I have the privilege of being a member of the Council of Europe, of which the Minister of State is a former member, and I lead the Irish delegation. Listening to the people from eastern Europe, it is clear that Russia has taken some arbitrary actions from the Crimea into Ukraine and elsewhere, and there is a palpable fear of that. There is no reason to be smug or relaxed about it. There is a risk factor there that we can never forget about.

If, as presented by the Minister and his officials, and as common sense would suggest, we are in transition but we will need supplies of oil and gas for the next 20 to 30 years I do not see the logic in those supplies being sourced from outside of the country. I genuinely do not understand why we would not seek to source them from within, while working to eliminate them. The fact that we get a tax return of 55% cannot be ignored. Should our finances tighten owing to spend on infrastructural projects, health services and so on that 55% tax return could be ring-fenced for use on the climate change agenda in terms of developing green energy and retrofitting etc. It is better that we have that money and use it rather than forgo it. It will ensure we do not run out of money in regard to the green agenda. This has to be a consideration.

On the point regarding the Minister seeking the Ceann Comhairle's opinion, I would have thought it a perfectly normal exercise for a Minister confronted with a legislative change to check if a money message would be required. I do not see anything particularly untoward about that. As I said, I would have thought that to be due process. As the Chairman pointed out earlier, the Ceann Comhairle's position cannot be contravened or argued with. Applying a level of common sense or layman's approach to this, it is hardly conceivable that we could halt licensed operations with incurring costs. Apart from forgoing potential revenue, we would incur costs in terms of compensation. I take on board Senator McDowell's point that the argument of an emergency could be made, but I think that is a questionable proposition. I presume those who would be affected have thought that one through. Senator McDowell is an acknowledged legal expert, one of the finest in this country, but his thesis that given the nature of our Constitution and the place of private property therein we could get away without paying some level of compensation is questionable. We will need electricity to charge electric vehicle batteries. An issue constantly raised with me in my constituency and home area is the absence of an infrastructure to support the proposed increased number of electric vehicles on our roads. This is one of the greatest arguments against that initiative. How electric vehicles are to be powered into the future is one of the questions that remains unanswered.

In regard to domestic energy security, I am concerned on a number of levels. The Minister made the interesting point that as happened in Norway and the UK the intention is to sell the product into the indigenous domestic market, which would make sense in the real world. I am privileged to have three sons, each of whom is interested in the sciences, which I do not understand, but we have discussed the amazing advances in technology. The Minister made the valid observation that into the future we may be in a position to decarbonise fossil fuels. Who knows what science will exist in 20 years? We should endeavour to retain our supply intact as we build up the green supplies as well. We should strive to achieve both in parallel. There have been tremendous scientific advances, including in green technology. We have to keep abreast of science. We should all exercise a level of constraint and calm while remaining determined. I have yet to meet a Member of the Houses who is not committed to the climate change project. We are a small island and given the nature of our economy we do not have a vested interest, nor should we, in doing anything else.

We should await the climate action plan and proceed according to it.