Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is very clear to me and many others in this Chamber and around the country that the Minister's Government is running scared. This is a Bill to try to ensure we do not have blackouts. The Government has paid €450 million for gas generators but where will it get the gas? It could get cornered with that because the Ministers do not want to listen to anybody.

We have an opportunity in Kerry and a very worthwhile company has had a proposal in the offing for many years at Shannon LNG, where we could source gas and bring in the gas from western countries that might be inclined to sell it to us rather than dealing with Putin and others. We are in trouble with Brexit and Britain's Prime Minister Johnson as well. Deputy Micheál Martin is now the Taoiseach and went around north Kerry canvassing with Councillor Norma Moriarty when he promised the people of north Kerry he would support Shannon LNG. What has he done? He allowed his Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications to object and put in a submission against it. We had our own gas and people went drilling off the coast of Kerry. Of course, the Tánaiste, Deputy Leo Varadkar, stopped that. We had a proposal in the Chamber a few weeks ago involving Barryroe but that was shot down, despite the possibility of any amount of oil and gas being there.

There has been much talk here today about data centres but we should strive to put people in households, homes and business before the data centres, please. That is all I will say about them because much has been said about them.

There has been much talk about turf. We have it and it is our own but there is now a war in Europe that is threatening to be the third world war. What have we done only closed Bord na Móna when we had the possibility of generating our own electricity. Every day since it closed, the cost of electricity has increased. Everybody in the country knows that. Everybody we ask, whether in homes or business, will say the cost of electricity has increased every day since Bord na Móna closed.

We cut our own turf and there has been much talk about turf. We have had seven generations cutting turf; I was the sixth generation and my daughter and sons are at it now. We will make no apologies to anyone for cutting the bit of turf and keeping our homes warm. We are proud to do that. The people before us did it and it is part of our culture. There are many other people like us who will continue to do it.

If we closed the entire country, the difference would amount of 0.013% of global emissions. We can see that Germany, China, Poland and many others have gone back to coal. There is much talk about turf but no word about planes. People need planes but we need a discussion about them. There were 200,000 people flying out of the country last weekend. We must have planes but the Government's focus seems to be on turf. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has gladly ensured more people are now cutting turf.

I know somebody who has spent €35,000 or €40,000 on solar panels but gets nothing back for what they supply to the grid. I know several others who are contemplating getting panels but they cannot get going because there is no assistance. The Government is two years in office now and all it will be remembered for is increasing the carbon tax.

We have several methods of creating alternative energy. We are blessed with so many rivers. Kenmare was electrified by the O'Sheas back in the 1930 when they set up turbines in the Sheen river. It was the same with the Sweeneys, the gifted family in Shandrum in Kilgarvan, who generated their own electricity. The Government gives no consideration to such people now.

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