Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Our house is still on fire and this Government is not offering solutions. It offers vague plans with few targets and lots of talk about doing the right thing. In the words of Greta Thunberg, it is offering "blah, blah, blah". It seems that rather than throwing water on our burning house, this Government is considering throwing petrol on it instead. I nearly fell off my chair yesterday morning when I heard the Green Party Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, make an argument in favour of keeping the oil-fired electricity generating station in Tarbert and the coal-fired electricity generating station in Moneypoint open. I could not believe my ears and thought that perhaps I was listening to "Gift Grub". Is there no end to this Government's pandering to vested interests?

Are we choosing energy-hungry and water-hungry data centres over our climate targets? Data centres account for 11% of our energy usage and are forecast to use 30% by the end of the decade. There are 70 data centres in this State with at least a further 30 being planned. In the last year, there has been a 25% increase in the number of these centres. We should not build any more of them until an energy needs assessment is complete. We need to consider the precious resource of water. The Government is going to the trouble of building a 170 km pipeline from the Parteen Basin, in County Tipperary, to Dublin. What is the point of robbing water from the River Shannon if it is going to be swallowed up by data centres? We need imaginative solutions to this problem. Any future data centres should be sited where the heat they produce can be harnessed.

When will we see the long-promised update to the wind energy guidelines? Is there a date for this? Why is Ireland the only country in Europe that does not have a facility for microgeneration generators to sell excess power to the grid? This is a key element to a just transition and is overdue by two months. Ireland is now in breach of EU law by not facilitating microgeneration. Will it take somebody bringing a legal action for this Government to do the right thing? We need action, and we needed it yesterday. We need no more of the "blah, blah, blah" mentioned by Greta Thunberg.

I sought a copy of the Minister's speech but apparently one is not available. Perhaps he will email us a copy.

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