Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

I am sharing time with Deputy Canney, but I am not sure if he is present.

People are quite shocked at the approach of the Green Party on this. I have a lot of time for many of the Green Party activists who are elected representatives. I believe that many of them have approached their time in Dáil Éireann with the best of objectives and sincere values in trying to fix the climate crisis in the State. I am stunned, however, at the level of capture that I have seen among Green Party Members in this Dáil. Many people voted for the party first and foremost because they believed they were going to be an ethical watchdog in government with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Obviously, that has not happened. We have seen the number of scandals that have occurred during the Government's term while the Green Party has stood idly by on that. Many people figured that the Green Party was taking a strategic view and giving a blank cheque to typical Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael behaviour because they were so focused on the green agenda and on making sure that their agenda is achieved. How come we then see the Green Party get captured with regard to what is happening around data centres at the same time? It is really hard to understand how on one level they can renege on their objective of being a watchdog in respect of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael wrongdoings, and, on the other, sell out so quickly on their core objectives of achieving CO2 reduction and climate policy that will fix the environment on this planet.

Instead of seeing the green flag being flown by the party at the moment, the white flag has been raised on many issues so far in government. The landscape the Green Party is in charge of at the moment is turning into a landscape of chaos. Energy security is the first responsibility of any government. Being able to keep the lights on is the first responsibility of every government. There is no better way to unite all sectors of society in anger against the Government than introducing energy instability. It affects everybody. It affects people in being able to just put the kettle on or to make a bottle for their child, it affects businesses ability to function, and it affects hospitals and other services that we depend to be delivered. Yet, the energy situation in the State is now in chaos. It is entering a period of significant instability. It will be a fatal blow to the credibility of the Government if it does not ensure energy stability in this country.

I was shocked to listen to the interview of the Minister of State's leader on "Morning Ireland" earlier. I heard him make an argument for the extension of the lifespan of the coal-fired station in Moneypoint and the oil-fired power station in Tarbert. I asked myself the question: was this argument any different from the argument that would have been made by Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael in previous years? These two parties have covered themselves in green wash and have stood in every green photo opportunity but have never delivered on anything over the past ten years. I asked myself if the leader of the Green Party was delivering a message in any different way from how those two political parties have delivered. The answer is very clearly "No".

The idea that the greens are making an argument currently for a entire sector to be given free rein in the delivery of increased output of CO2 is incredible. Other countries have decided to put a cap on it and if those sectors want to increase in size in the future, they have to do so on the basis of sustainable energy alone. Other countries have the cart the right way around with regard to the horse, but unfortunately the Green Party in Ireland has not. I cannot understand why the Green Party wants to undermine the entire green project for the sake of data centres. Many people are learning that the mobile phone is now becoming a weapon of environmental destruction in many ways. It is important for environmentalists to start to reappraise the use we make of mobile phones and of data in this country. I cannot understand why the Green Party is putting all of its political capital in data centres. It significantly undermines our message to the rest of society. Data centres are not employment rich; in fact they are employment poor. They have a low impact on the improvement of society, income levels, and general business within society. It undermines the Green Party's message to everybody else in society. How can the Minister of State and his party tell working-class families to take the burden of a carbon tax in the future when the party is giving a free rein to data centres in the State? How can they tell farmers to reduce the size of the national herd, reduce their ability to make a living in this country, and radically alter the business model they operate? How can the Green Party ask farmers to accept the low wages they are experiencing at the moment and accept that thousands of them will leave the agricultural sector on an annual basis, while at the same time giving free rein to data centres? It radically reduces the party's ability to be taken seriously when it is selling its other messages to other sectors of society.

I will talk about water now. Many of these data centres are located on the east coast. Due to climate change the east coast is has far less water at the moment. In my county of Meath for example, Enfield was without water for 17 days in August. In a first world country in the 21st century, for the majority of the days in the month of August people were turning on the taps with no water coming out. I know of 100 people living in the centre of Meath whose wells are running dry at the moment. That may be because of the new extraction involved at Tara mines, but all of these watercourses are linked to each other. The River Boyne is lower than it ever has been because of the pressure that water is under. Yet, the Government is proceeding with an industry that is extremely harsh on water in an area that is already in big trouble.

I will point to the other elements of the Green Party's impact so far in Government. Ireland is, I believe, the only country in Europe at the moment where no solar farm is plugged into the national grid. Ireland is the only country in Europe where there is no feed-in tariff yet for microgeneration. The North has been festooned with solar panels for nearly a decade, which are on top of homes. Energy is generated by families, plugged into the electricity grid, and they get some money in return. We are still not in the position where there is an auction in this country for microgeneration using a feed-in tariff. The Green Party is not delivering. The party has raised the white flag and is ceding ground to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael on its core values, and that needs to change.

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