Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)

Last February there was an energy action conference on fuel poverty. A speaker from Age Action noted that inability to pay for home heating might contribute to approximately 2,000 winter deaths in the State each year. Older people are more likely to be affected and are generally at higher risk of fuel poverty. Increasing numbers are falling into arrears on their utility bills and hundreds of thousands are entering into payment plans, many of which they still cannot afford. Disconnections are commonplace. Deaths from the cold, while rare, still happen. It is a scandal that a person could be allowed to die from cold in this day and age because he or she cannot afford to heat the home adequately.

The Government is happy to sell our natural offshore resources while it fails to seek revenue to help those in fuel poverty. Although the Commission for Energy Regulation announced that it is to maintain gas prices at current levels for residential and business customers until the end of September it is clear there will be increases after that date. Certain people have tried to justify increases, stating that Irish consumers pay less than the European average for gas. This argument does not stand up. Such people deliberately ignore the fact that we do not have a continental climate and therefore use more fuel. People cannot afford to pay more. People are being let go from work and are waiting months to receive the most minimal kind of redundancy payments. There are pay cuts and cuts in hours of work. There is the universal social charge, a review of which we still await. There is no need for it to be reviewed - it needs to be abolished.

The people cannot take any more. Ordinary working people are hurting because money goes to gas companies. It is a disgrace. Sinn Féin calls for our natural resources to be put in public ownership to realise profits for all the people, as per the democratic programme of an Chéad Dáil. We ask for this to be managed sustainably, in the public interest and for the benefit of future generations. We ask that an all-Ireland infrastructure be developed and the oil and gas sectors be nationalised to maximise non-tax public revenue generating potential.

If it had the political will, the Government could use natural resources to help revive and develop our economy. However, it does not and wishes simply to hand over what is ours to multinational companies. Contrary to popular belief, Ireland is rich in natural resources. Decades of Government mismanagement have resulted in a massive hand-over of resources such as natural gas, minerals and fisheries. In addition, a failure to invest in developing sustainable energies and forestry has denied the State valuable sources of employment and much needed revenue.

On the day he lost his seat and his party lost power the former Minister, Mr. Pat Carey of Fianna Fáil, issued an order for the last section of the Corrib gas pipeline. It was an act of disgraceful political cynicism. He had no political or moral authority to give the go ahead for a pipeline over which many concerns still exist even after changes were made following a ruling by An Bord Pleanála. The underhand manner in which this order was made proves that even in its dying days Fianna Fáil was doing favours for its friends at the Galway Races.

Having allowed this to continue Fine Gael and the Labour Party show themselves to be no different. The Corrib field will bring little or no economic benefit to our people under current revenue terms. We propose that the State take a majority share in all oil and gas reserves and impose proper taxation and royalties. The potential revenue stream from this measure would go a long way to addressing the current economic situation. Even in its dying days, Fianna Fáil was doing favours for speculators and its friends in big business. Questions remain to be asked about the conduct of the whole affair. Before the people of Dublin North West kicked him out of office, the former Minister, Mr. Pat Carey, maintained he had not signed the document on a whim and the entire process had taken eight months. However, the Green Party contradicted this when the former Minister, then Deputy, Eamon Ryan, stated he had not seen sight of the documents before he left office. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív, who replaced the former Minister, Mr. John Gormley, was adamant the documents had not come to him. Perhaps this will be the subject of a tribunal further down the road. At the time this emerged, the then Labour Deputy, Mr. Michael D. Higgins, condemned the action and called for full transparency in respect of any communication between the Department and interested parties. I hope his party colleagues will heed this call.

Ownership and control of these resources should be returned to the people. Táár dtodhchaí i gceist. Tá meoin na ndaoine i gceist. Táár muintir agus ár dtír ag fulaingt gan ghá leis ar chor ar bith.

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