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

I was at the sustainable nation event last night. Many of these companies, based in Ireland and in the United States, were there. The consensus across that dinner last night was that what the Taoiseach is overseeing is a republic of missed opportunity and that we are not moving with the new industrial revolution which features clean energy and renewable power which those companies want. There are 116 companies in the world which have committed to going 100% renewable. I hope the Taoiseach is listening. Adobe, Apple, eBay, Facebook, Google, HP, Microsoft and Salesforce were among the companies which the Taoiseach visited. These companies all want to go 100% renewable. Ireland cannot even commit to going to 40% renewable by 2030, and we are fighting at every turn in Europe to take away ambition in that area. Did any of the companies bring up with the Taoiseach when he met them their ambition to go low carbon and renewable, and did they ask why Ireland, which has some of the best renewable resources in the world, did not have the same ambition that they had? It is one of the reasons behind the Apple decision to go to Denmark rather than Ireland, which to my mind is a disaster for the development of the west of Ireland because it is a clear signal that these companies are starting to realise that this Government does not believe in that new, clean industrial revolution. It is not leading or partaking in it, and we are starting to see the consequences. Did any of the companies with ambitions to go 100% renewable raise that issue with the Taoiseach when he met them?

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