Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The repetition of the words "families, farms and businesses" does not pull at my heartstrings. I doubt that it pulls at the heartstrings of millions of people who support the "keep it in the ground" campaign, particularly the kids who marched recently. It is absolute and utter nonsense to say this would not reduce our emissions. Of course it would reduce our emissions. What the Minister of State really wants to say is that he does not understand what is going on. He thinks our emissions stop dead at the borders around our seashores, but that is not the case. This is a global problem. The emissions that come from any fossil fuels which are extracted affect the entire planet. By allowing licences to take more fossil fuels out of the earth, we are adding to the planet's overall carbon emissions. The Corrib field has 15 years left. That will bring us close to 2035, by which time we should almost be totally dependent on renewables if we are to reach our targets. Given that the Government continually objects to reliance on Russia and other politically unstable areas, why is the Minister of State saying that when the Corrib field is depleted 15 years from now, we will need to rely on ExxonMobil and other related companies that work closely with Chinese and Russian oil companies? The future should be carbon free.

See this speech in context