Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In the north west of Ireland we use the phrase "a poisoned pup" which is referred to as a "poisoned chalice" in the rest of the country to describe a gift that does harm instead of good. Just over three years ago the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources was handed a poisoned pup when he took over his brief. The previous Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government had bequeathed a communications privatisation agenda that left us in the dark ages in terms of internet access and usage, an energy agenda that allowed companies and their shareholders to run rings around the Government and the people and a natural resources agenda dominated by vested interests, secrecy and inept handling. Our natural resources were handed over to multinational conglomerates with few, if any, benefits for the people.

I will examine how much has changed under the Minister and, to paraphrase the previous Government, how much remains to be done. I believe the Minister genuinely wants to make significant improvements in his areas of responsibility and do the right thing by the people. I commend him for his initiatives to roll out broadband and his recent announcement that he would publish a Green Paper outlining the Government's vision for the future of energy supply in this country. Less than one hour ago he announced the establishment of a panel of international experts to advise him on the fiscal terms that should apply to oil and gas exploration. I look forward to learning the composition of the panel and hope the experts will not all be oil industry insiders. However, in the continuing absence of a coherent strategy for natural resources, the winners from policy decisions will be energy company investors and well placed political lobbyists and insiders. There will be a new golden circle. Without clear direction, incorrect decisions will be made and in ten years time we will be holding inquiries into the basis of these decisions. We need a clear and coherent strategy for ensuring the people will benefit from energy and natural resources.

The Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with the British Government on exporting a renewable energy supplies from Ireland to Britain. In effect, this will turn Ireland into an offshore wind farm for the British grid. In order to satisfy the needs of the British energy market, it is proposed to erect wind turbines across the midlands, despite massive opposition from local residents who rightly believe they are being burdened with turbines to produce electricity that will not be used on the Irish grid. To add insult to injury, the lack of proper regulations for the erection of turbines is causing distress for many families. Sinn Féin will be introducing legislation to the House to provide for minimum set-back distances, suspending the memorandum of understanding and requiring Irish renewable energy supplies to be sufficient to meet Irish consumer demands before they can be exported. I find the claim that the Irish and British Governments have not discussed financial arrangements to be incredible. If that is true, it is crazy.

In regard to post offices and the wider issue of rural sustainability, last week we had a debate on the future of the post office network. The programme for Government committed the Administration to maintaining the network of post offices and ensuring communities had access to adequate postal services. However, the Minister stated last week that commercial and trading businesses were moving out of small rural towns into supermarkets based in larger county and provincial centres. Any business on the high street in rural towns and villages should be concerned that the Government is resigned to the running down of rural areas. Where is the Government's strategy for ensuring the sustainability of rural areas? It most certainly was not set out in the Minister's comments.

I applaud the Minister for his efforts in the roll-out of broadband services. The ESB (Electronic Communications Networks) Bill 2013 is a positive measure that will help to bring the broadband network up to speed. The privatisation of Telecom Éireann in the late 1990s resulted in Ireland having the lowest rate of availability of high speed broadband in the European Union until recently because of a lack of investment in broadband infrastructure. I am glad that the Government is making an attempt to rectify the connection problems, but the philosophy of privatisation has not gone away.

Under the Government, we have witnessed the privatisation of Bord Gáis Energy and very nearly witnessed the privatisation of Coillte which was only stopped by protest. The Government needs to move away from the ideology of privatisation and I worry that down the line the fibre optic network for broadband being rolled out will be privatised and that we will suffer the mistakes of Telecom Éireann all over again. The Minister has stated - I accept his word - that he has no intention of selling the broadband network, but, as I said to him, he will not always be Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and that this statement should be explicitly included in the legislation going through the House.

In the term of the Government a report was produced on Ireland's offshore oil and gas resources. The report which was authored by members of all parties made a number of recommendations. Among them was the recommendation that there be staged taxation, whereby petroleum companies would pay 80% on large finds, 60% on medium finds and 40% on small finds. Under the 1992 and 2007 licensing terms, a tax rate of 20% on net profits is applicable. However, oil and gas companies can write-off against tax 100% of their costs, including costs incurred up to 25 years before production begins and the cost of drilling unsuccessful wells anywhere in Irish waters in that 25 year period. As I stated, the Minister has today announced that he is setting up an international panel. We must ensure we stop giving away our oil and gas.

It would be remiss of me not to talk about something that is of deep concern in my constituency, that is, fracking. There are some measures that should not even be considered. For example - this is not the responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn - there was a report circulating in HSE West stating maternity services might be reduced or withdrawn from Sligo Regional Hospital. That matter should not be under consideration. Fracking in the north west should not be under consideration either. We should not even consider the possibility of turning the beautiful north west and the west, into an industrial and, possibly, a poisoned wasteland by permitting fracking that would only benefit energy company investors. It is wrong and should not be on the agenda. We should not be wasting taxpayers' money on an Environmental Protection Agency study of fracking. We should say it is not going to happen. I plead with the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, to ensure this is done.

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