Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

It is not my view that we should just grin and bear it. Not at all. The key problem we have is that some 50% of our power generation, including the power needed to run the lights in this Chamber, is coming from gas generation, when averaged out over a year. There are short-term and immediate actions around social welfare, taxation and other measures, as we discussed, that are needed to help householders through this difficult period. However, there is a fundamental switch we need to make. The reason I do not support dismantling the investment, regulatory and market system we have is that this system is needed to invest in switching to alternatives. We will continue to need gas infrastructure and gas power generation, although not liquefied natural gas, LNG, in my view. We will need back-up gas power generation that uses less gas. Switching away from the use of gas is the critical way of protecting householders. In both our offshore generation and our existing RESS, which I have just been discussing with Deputy O'Rourke, we have the mechanisms to do that. This will be the way of protecting Irish householders.

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