Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for preparing this very important motion this morning. It is very timely and topical in light of the budget next week.

I will focus my contribution on the concept of energy security at a macro, national level but also and, perhaps most importantly, at a micro, household, individual level. We can all appreciate that there is a very significant energy crunch at the moment. This is happening for two reasons, primarily.

First, the world economy is just cranking up again after having been asleep for the past 12 months, which is placing very significant demands on the limited supply that is there. Second, and perhaps most importantly, there are many geopolitical games being played out at the moment where strategic rivals and competitors are turning down gas valves and trying to apply great pressure on their competitors. Unfortunately, this has also landed Ireland in the cross hairs. One point that is rarely mentioned is that energy price inflation also usually leads very quickly to general inflation. The most vulnerable people in the country will soon be hit by a double whammy with both energy inflation and the inflation of staple food prices etc., which also are going to rise. This will also have a significant effect.

Ireland is uniquely vulnerable here, primarily due to our geographical location, in that we are at the very end of a very long pipeline from eastern Europe. Most people also accept that our housing stock is very poorly insulated and this is an area which we certainly have to work on. Public transport is poorly developed and we have an over-reliance on fossil fuels. Consequently, simultaneously or even perhaps paradoxically, while we have an over-reliance on fossil fuels we also have an under-accessibility issue from a fossil fuels point of view, which is a kind of perfect storm from an energy perspective.

We have also closed down a number of power plants in the past 12 months and I would argue this perhaps was done prematurely. Plan B was not in place before plan A was shut down.

I am absolutely in favour of the just transition but it has to be done in a very measured and focused way that is possible to implement. The last point I would like to make is that, while some elements of the energy crunch are beyond our control, some elements are within it. We should be focusing on the latter. With regard to the budget next week, I agree with Deputy Sherlock on the concept of tax credits. That is a good way to go. There should be some measures in the budget to offset the rise in energy prices. If that is not possible, we should suspend the planned increase in the carbon tax, at least until winter has passed. I was happy to see greater investment in public transport in the national development plan on Monday. There is also to be more funding for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland to facilitate and encourage people to retrofit their homes. You can retrofit your home in a couple of weeks. If we get ahead of this now, it will have a positive impact even this winter.

The last thing we can look at is the microgeneration of power. While I know the Green Party has been mentioning this in recent years, we really need to look at the democratisation of energy. That is a good way to go. Every south-facing roof in Ireland should have solar panels either for heat or for electricity. Deputy Martin Kenny and I speak a lot to members of the agricultural community and there is a lot of spare roof space on sheds and farm buildings. It is a good way to go. However, while you can pass surplus power to the grid, you cannot be properly paid for it yet. That is an issue. It is also unusual that you can put solar panels on your house without planning permission very easily while schools, public buildings, swimming pools and sports centres need planning permission. I would be grateful if the Minister of State could look at the bureaucracy associated with that and make it easier to put up solar panels.

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