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

I would argue that when we strip away all the rhetoric, the Green Party in government is presiding over the expansion of fossil fuels and our reliance on them in the State. The Government is tying us into another 30 years at least of dependence on gas and facilitating arguments that will be made by proponents of liquefied natural gas by deepening our reliance on gas. Gas is not a bridge to anything. It is a fossil fuel and the expansion of its use and infrastructure is a betrayal of the climate movement the Green Party is supposed to represent and the pledges made by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in Glasgow. There is really nothing short term about this. Building gas stations will tie us in for 30 years.

It is very clear from recent statements by Mr. Mark Foley of EirGrid - the Minister of State should familiarise himself with the meeting he had with the data industry - that this is to facilitate the growth and proliferation of that industry. It makes a complete nonsense of the claim that we can somehow magically continue to have unlimited data centres, reduce our emissions and reach our targets.

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