Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Bríd Smith for bringing forward this Bill. It gives us an opportunity to debate two really important issues. In terms of data centres, this week we heard from experts at the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action about the impact they are having, we have the EirGrid All-Island Generation Capacity Statement 2019-2028 and we heard the Government outline its totally unsustainable, unrealistic and unbelievable position. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications has stated that keeping oil and coal powered plants in operation for longer than intended will not impede out ability to meet our 2030 targets. Despite being only three months old, it appears those targets are being sidelined. The Government is quick to tell people that hard decisions will need to be taken in the transition to greener alternatives, but it clearly is not willing to practice what is preaches, rolling over immediately when big tech puts the pressure on. Sinn Féin supports a moratorium on the development of new data centres until an economic, environmental and energy security impact risk analysis has been carried out. As stated by Deputy Martin Kenny, we are supporting this Bill as we believe an in-depth debate on Committee Stage, where we can scrutinise stakeholders and look at the risk analyses, is an essential element. This Bill recognises the problem and provides an impetus for solution.

In terms of planning, this Bill also seeks to ensure LNG terminals and other fossil fuel infrastructure are removed from the Seventh Schedule to the Planning and Development Act 2000. Every euro invested in new fossil fuel infrastructure is a euro not spent on sustainable renewable alternatives. We have agreed on a 51% reduction by 2030 and an aim of a carbon neutral society by no later than 2050. New fossil fuel infrastructure simply does not fit into this plan. Sinn Féin is opposed to new infrastructure that will lock us into fossil fuel use for decades to come and will greatly impede the transition to a zero carbon economy. We support an outright ban on fracked gas. We have opposed fracking across this island and we are opposed to importing fracked gas. We were concerned that a commitment in this regard was not included in the recent climate action plan or in the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. We suspect this omission was due to provisions of the investor clause in the Energy Charter Treaty, ECT. We believe the ECT poses a huge threat to climate action here. It protects foreign investors in the energy sector from any changes in Government policies regarding energy that would impact on their profit or expected future profits. Any future Government that would try to phase out LNG terminals would potentially be faced with an investor-state dispute settlement, ISDS, claim in a closed door investor tribunal that has no appeal mechanism. This happened to the Dutch. They had a short-term energy problem as they were over-reliant on gas and prices went through the roof. In 2009, they invited coal fired power plants into the country. These opened in 2015 and 2016. To reach its climate targets, the Dutch now needs to phase out these plants by 2030. In February of this year, they were hit with two claims under the ECT, amounting to a minimum of €2.4 billion. We do not want the same to happen here. Not only could this ISDS mechanism lead to major liability for the State, it could result in regulatory chill, where the Government does not progress climate measures for fear of litigation.

Sinn Féin has called on the Irish Government to join other countries such as France and Spain in the call for the EU to leave the ECT. Failing agreement at an EU level, we believe the Government should set a deadline by which we should leave unilaterally. There is a sunset clause that locks us into liability for 20 years, but the ECT is so bad there is no argument for staying. Italy is already five years into its sunset period. If the Government is serious about climate action, we need to unshackle ourselves from this regressive treaty.

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