Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

-----and Members of the House. Do we now have people in the House denying scientists and their capabilities? That is a very dangerous road to go down, that people in this House think they know more than all the climate scientists who have come together to say this. I was not going to use the term "climate deniers" later in my speech, but I think it is incredibly appropriate at this point. Just this week, we have heard outspoken climate leaders such as UN Secretary General, António Guterres, calling the dash for new fossil fuels as delusional. At home, the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, said that urgent implementation of all climate plans and policies, plus further new measures, are needed for Ireland to meet the 51% emissions reduction target for 2030.

I agree we must be cognisant of the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, which recently ranked Ireland as the fourth most energy insecure country in Europe, but how we address energy security in Ireland will define how successful we will be and what kind of future we are laying for the children who come after us. The real reason behind our own energy insecurity is lack of Government implementation of its own climate actions. It has failed to invest in our renewable energy sector or upgrade our grid infrastructure and has failed to think ahead for a generation whose future is now compromised and under threat.

The EPA report referenced the worrying situation of our emissions. Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions projections were described as very bad and, as a result, Ireland is way off course to meeting its targets. It further outlined what I have known to be true as a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action, that there is a huge gap between the ambitions of Ireland's legally binding climate Act, which targets a 51% cut in emissions by 2030, and the actions needed to deliver on that ambition. The report highlights that even in the unlikely event that every planned climate policy and measure outlined in the climate action plan were fully implemented on time, Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions would only fall by 28% by 2030, a little more than half of what is legally required.

There are already concerns about the Government's carbon budgets, as our emissions continue to rise rather than go down. How then can it be justified that we open up more oil and gas fields and rely even more on fossil fuels as a climate measure? Our target to be carbon neutral by 2050 does not legitimise development of our oil and gas supplies. What the Government must do is act on its own ambitions and those as set at international agreements, something this motion conveniently ignores.

The motion further states that Ireland simply cannot become a green economy overnight when 87% of our energy supply still comes from fossil fuels. No one is saying this can happen overnight. The problem was not made overnight. We have known about this issue for decades, and yet climate change deniers such as we seem to have in the Opposition have stalled these efforts. Those very same politicians are now in the House calling for action. We cannot become a green economy overnight, but we will never become a green economy if we do not start to walk away from fossil fuels now.

The reason Ireland is so dependent on gas is that the Government failed to act on renewable energy opportunities and continues to lag in terms of reforming the planning system to cater for offshore wind farm production. There are shortcomings in An Bord Pleanála, the setting up of maritime area consent offices and the necessary upgrades to the grid infrastructure to facilitate such an increase in capacity of offshore wind. The issue here is not the need for more oil and gas but the need to divert away from oil and gas. Even if we were to start opening up existing oil and gas fields off Ireland, it would take years before anything was developed or oil was extracted and ready to be sold on the market.

We have been promised by the Government that an energy security review is forthcoming, and it still has not been published. However, without this, we do not have a clear picture on our energy security situation. As another Deputy mentioned, it is this lack of strategy that provides a gap for these kinds of debates to be facilitated. Furthermore, the Government has failed to provide a strategy on energy demand in Ireland. It continues to allow data centre development go ahead unabated, with no clear plan on how to manage large-scale energy demand. All data centres' energy usage amounts to that of every single rural house in this country. The fact the Government has not strategically managed that is a major failing and one that will come back to bite us.

We cannot have these discussions without first acknowledging energy demand and the disproportionate effect this is having on our energy system. Yes, the Government needs to reduce the cost burden of energy and ensure a sustainable supply channel for both affordable food and energy into the future. It can do this by implementing a transition that is fair and just to rural Ireland, especially for rural areas where farming is dominant, where there is little to no rural transport and where people are very much reliant on traditional forms of energy. Time and again, I have called on the Government to transform dramatically rural Ireland's public transport network, provide public links and rail and incentivise people to invest in electric vehicles.

To address the short- to medium-term price increases, the Social Democrats have called for an emergency energy budget to put €300 into the pockets of workers earning up to €50,000, using a refundable tax credit. We have also proposed the creation of a hardship fund in order that those most at risk of food and fuel poverty can access emergency payments immediately. The Government also needs to reduce excise duty, because the reality is that Government is profiting on these skyrocketing costs. The profits it is making on people's hardship in trying to pay for fuel need to go back into people's pockets.

It is disheartening to hear such rhetoric at this time of full knowledge of what we are about to encounter if we do not act now. The motion goes so far as to suggest a regression of all we have worked for to date. In fact, the motion reads like a lobby love letter from Ireland’s oil and gas sector. What got us here in the first place was a cosy relationship between politicians and industrial lobbyists, a relationship that has proven incompatible with our climate, our future and the sustainability of our local communities. It is time to wean ourselves off this most addictive drug.

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