Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion. We are all aware of the global climate problems we face and the need to move away from extracting fossil fuels. We have been extracting these fuels for decades with only limited benefits for the State and members of the public. Corporations have benefited most because successive Governments have presided over among the worst deals on royalties from gas in the world.

Apart from the burning of fossil fuels, we are linked to the petrochemical industry in the western world. What solutions have been put forward? It is vital there are solutions and alternatives. What are the realistic specific replacements for fossil fuels? What exactly are the renewable energy sources that will be put in place? It is one thing to ban fossil fuels but the environmental problems we have will only be solved when we bring forward some alternatives.

Sinn Féin supports the general thrust of the Bill, although it will require some amendments. We need to set in motion the renewable technologies that will replace fossil fuels. It would be completely immoral and foolish to stop using gas extracted here, while continuing to use gas and coal produced elsewhere in the short term because we have not developed replacement energies. We must develop a wide variety of renewable sources such as offshore wind, solar, microgeneration, biogas, biomass and hydro energy. What solutions have been put forward in the House? The major solution currently being put forward seems to be to introduce another layer of tax. Will it be acceptable in future to drive electric cars powered by electricity generated from fossil fuels or nuclear power in England, Scotland or Wales and delivered to us through interconnectors?

We should have a vision to produce our own energy and become an exporter of renewable energy. This means we must specify replacement sources of energy. We urgently need to start developing a biogas industry and to develop offshore wind, solar, hydro, wave, biomass and other energy sources. Sinn Féin has outlined how we would do this in a detailed paper, Powering Ireland 2030.

Electricity accounts for only some of our consumption of fossil fuels. What are we doing about transport, which accounts for 40% of the energy we use? Our public transport network is almost completely reliant on fossil fuels. There is no plan or strategy for the public charging system for electric vehicles, which does not exist in many parts of the country. Public transport needs to be more widely available and properly planned, including in the regions.

Successive Governments have had little vision or direction for renewable energy. We now face the moment of truth. We need to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels, which cost almost €5 billion per annum. We need to change not only for sake of the environment or to be self-sufficient but also because we face fines as a result of our miserable failure to meet our 2020 obligations on greenhouse gas emissions reductions and renewable energy production. It is estimated that these fines will cost hundreds of millions of euro.

I hope the Bill opens up a debate and that we can legislate on what will replace fossil fuels. Without a rapid change in policy and direction, we will continue to affect the environment by having further sharp increases in greenhouse gas emissions. We need to move away from polluting imported fossil fuels, which requires solutions that are based on renewal sources of energy, of which we have an abundance and for which we need to plan. Talking about the problem will not solve it. What we need are alternatives. We need to open a debate and quickly move to action.

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