Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

The big question in terms of our oceans is whether the Government is going to allow the privatisation of these natural resources in the interests of big multinationals and private developers, who are literally queueing up to cash in on the natural resources of this country, which are owned by the people. It might be worth considering that more than 50% of our gas, for example, comes from Corrib and that we can produce up to 80% or 85% of our own electricity, yet the prices are going through the roof. That is because we privatised it and we gave it away to for-profit companies. There are now developers and multinational companies literally queueing up to grab sites all around the country. They have identified the sites because the Government did not protect the marine areas as it should have, or only 2% of them when it was supposed to protect 30%. They are queueing up to grab our wind energy potential and our oceans. Will he acknowledge that when they develop that renewable energy, they will charge market prices for the use of those resources to the people of this country?

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