Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Touch wood, but I think I can give the Deputy the assurance he seeks in the sense that no such circumstances are envisaged. That said, we are at the end of the pipeline. We are a remote island on the verge of Europe and we saw what happened only a couple of winters’ ago when Russia turned off the pipeline. The Deputy is asking me to look into a crystal ball. In terms of our capacity to meet market demand at the moment and for the foreseeable future, unless there were some kind of cataclysmic event affecting supply from the neighbouring island, no such set of circumstances are foreseen.

I can assure the Deputy that in respect of the privatisation of the energy division of Bord Gáis Éireann, it should have no impact on security of supply because the State will retain ownership and control of the networks in this country, even if Bord Gáis Éireann has a different name at that time. That ought not to be an issue.

I agree with the Deputy that our people generally take for granted that there is no need to be concerned about energy security. They presume that, when they plug in kettles in the morning or turn on switches at night, there will be light and that the kettles will boil. Energy security must be a concern. Yesterday, I met the National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, the body responsible for the acquisition and storage of critical oil supplies to meet our 90-day target. It has made tremendous progress in recent times, with 71% of oil stocks being stored in this jurisdiction for the first time ever. Even five years ago, that figure was 43%. Gradually, NORA has built up to 71% of our critical oil stocks needs being sourced in this jurisdiction.

I do not trivialise the question. This is a serious issue, but people would only acknowledge it as being critical if it arose.

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