Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Flaherty for sharing time. I did not think I would have the opportunity to speak but wanted to hear the contributions from colleagues. Today is a particularly important moment in the response to the current crisis. I very much hope this is the last of the measures necessary but I greatly fear it will not be and that this is an issue we will be discussing in the House for some time to come. It is a moment for real honesty with the Irish people about the nature and openness of our economy and our international dependence, including on foreign direct investment and the movement of trade. It is time for honesty about our international dependence on fossil fuels and fuel generally, the role of renewable energy, what we have done and what we have failed to do in that regard. There needs to be honesty about those who would object to future renewable energy generation and about our slowness in producing a real strategy for offshore floating wind energy, particularly in the Atlantic. We must be honest about our opportunity to store and sell that energy over time, our energy security into the future and how we can contribute to an energy solution, not just for ourselves but also for Europe. In particular, we need honesty on the risk of this land war and information war to our economy, our people and the European economy and people and on how realistic it is to expect to be insulated from that.

There also needs to be an honesty from Deputies making proposals about the capping of prices that there is a risk involved in that and a cost to it. It is fine to call for caps - indeed, these are discussions we all have both in private and public - but Members opposite need to be able to say in financial terms what it means for the State if a cap is imposed and who will pay for the difference. Given that we do not control the cost of energy coming into this State, if we choose to place a cap on it, who makes up the difference, how much is it going to be and from where will money be cut elsewhere to fund it? The measures announced tonight will cost approximately €380 million, which is a significant amount of money. Where is it going to come from in terms of other funding? As we go forward into the coming months, with the effect on our economy of this war and what it will mean for supply chains generally and economic activity, there is a real ongoing risk to our tax take. We need to be honest and upfront about that and what it means for the delivery of services over time.

We all very much hope the war ends as soon as possible but we have no real visibility on where this will go over time. There is an obligation to be serious and honest about the costs of any actions we propose. The measures we are discussing are necessary but the benefits are being eaten up very quickly by international energy prices and, as other Deputies have said, by a real risk of price gouging on the forecourts. Where that is happening, it is a cynical practice. The Government must take these measures and they will make a difference, albeit, I fear, a very short-term one. It is still important to do it. As we move forward, I hope this is the last of these conversations we need to have but I fear it will not be. We need to be honest with people over the coming months about the real effect of this war on the economy.

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