Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

If the Minister of State thinks the reaction in the kitchen will be bad, wait until he sees the reaction of the public. This is a serious matter. If all the electronic gadgets in offices, households and so on throughout the country grind to a halt at a particular time, there will be fun.

It is imperative for the Government to emphasise to a greater extent than it has done in the past the whole area of alternative energy. It should try to ensure that some provision is made. It should not operate on the same basis as in the past, namely, that everything will be all right on the night and, if we continue down the road we are on, we are sure to find a turn off that will go in the right direction. It does not happen that way.

I have reservations about the motion because some of the points are based on ideological grounds only. This is not about ideology; it is about practicality. It is about industry, jobs, the future, security of supply and the independence of the economy of the country in the future.

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