Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

What a happy day from my perspective. When I go home and my wife and family ask me what we did today, I can tell them that thanks to Deputy Pringle, we started the process of divesting tens of millions from fossil fuel companies. We do not often do that, but we are doing it here today. This is real. I hope I am not breaking privilege when I mention that the Ceann Comhairle said earlier today that when we pass legislation on Second Stage, we have an obligation to put it through to enactment and to turn it into law. This House sets the direction of this country. That is what we are doing today. I hear we have the numbers to pass the Fossil Fuel Divestment Bill 2016. That is why this is a happy day. Thank God we are doing this on the eve of the terrible day we are facing tomorrow, when the beast is "slouching towards Bethlehem", as Yeats would have it. What an answer this House is giving to Donald Trump and his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, in the name of Ireland. We are going to be selling Mr. Tillerson's Exxon Mobil shares because we do not believe in the future he stands for.

What a happy day for Trócaire. Fair play to it. Trócaire is not just in the field protecting the poorest people in this world. By helping to deliver this Bill, it is tackling the source of the problem it sees. What a happy day for the people involved in the divestment campaign. I would also like to mention the work done by Bill McKibben, who was brought to this country by Trócaire. The simple maths is beyond doubt. It is based on simple and clear physics. We have to leave four fifths of fossil fuels in the ground. That is what we are acknowledging and legislating for here today. What a happy day for the likes of 350.org and others who realise that the environmental movement is changing. We are moving from an approach that put all the responsibility on the individual at the end of the fossil fuel use pipeline to a better and cleverer approach that tackles the source of the problem. The Bill before the House recognises the need to stop fossil fuel use at source.

What a day for the likes of the carbon tracker people, whose clear and easy to understand financial analysis shows that those who invest in over-valued carbon assets without recognising the truth of physics, that four fifths of fossil fuels need to be left underground, are taking a bigger investment risk. The renewable alternative is clearly better and is now cheaper. If the officials in the Department of Finance would open their eyes to what is happening in the world, they would realise what is happening with the bidding price for solar power. I have just returned from the International Renewable Energy Agency, IRENA, conference in Abu Dhabi, where it was clear that the price people are bidding for solar power is 2.5 cent/kWh. The price of offshore wind power in our neck of the woods has come down to approximately 8 cent/kWh. It is cheaper. We will never fight over these renewable sources. One cannot hold someone to ransom over a solar panel. These kinds of power belong to every country and can belong to every person. They represents a better future. We need to switch to this kind of investment. We are starting to do so here today.

We need to do more and do it fast. When I was at the IRENA conference, the analysis was clear. We need a threefold increase in the current level of investment in renewable energy. By agreeing this legislation today, we are sending a message to the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund. We must try to get the fund to open up to what is happening in the world. The European investment fund - the Juncker fund - is the main vehicle in Europe. An additional €200 million has just been allocated to the fund for investment in Europe. Some 40% of this money has to go into new clean energy sources. We can take some of the money we are going to save by selling Exxon Mobil shares, which is a good deal, and put it into the alternative, which we can match with European funding. The UK is leaving, which is a big problem. Last year, the European Investment Bank invested €3.5 billion in clean energy in the UK. It is wondering what to do now. It cannot invest any more in the UK. We should be standing up and saying that if this €3.5 billion is invested in Ireland, we will match it with €300 million or so from the €800 fund we have. That could be our equity stake in the investment, to be owned by the Irish public. This opportunity is opening up to us.

One aspect of this debate is depressing, however. I mean no offence to the officials from the Department of Finance who are present, to Fine Gael or to the Minister of State, Deputy English, with whom I get on well, when I say they should hang their heads in shame. The argument we have heard from them this evening - that this country cannot divest from fossil fuels because it might threaten our sustainability as we move towards a low-carbon economy - is utter tosh.

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