Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this legislation. It is imperative that we secure energy supplies in Ireland this winter and beyond. We all want to see Ireland transition to renewables. It cannot happen quickly enough but it takes time to build the infrastructure we so desperately want to see, be it on land or offshore in the form of the wind-generating facilities.

I want to speak for a moment about Moneypoint power-generating station in County Clare, a coal-burning facility. In an ideal world, it would have transitioned. It is in the process of doing so, however, because we are preparing for it to become a hydrogen-processing point using wind energy generated off the wild Atlantic coast. While we have plants like Moneypoint, it is essential that we fire them up to generate electricity so we will not have blackouts and the energy crisis we all fear this winter and beyond.

I met stakeholders from the offshore wind sector last week. They tell me that, at present, approximately €78 billion worth of offshore projects are planned for Ireland. We need to make it possible for these to become real-time projects. The stakeholders fear that other European countries have more streamlined regulation that will allow projects to be delivered quicker. Admittedly, we have the Maritime Area Planning Act, which was passed in both Houses and signed by the President just before Christmas last year, but that in itself is just one aspect of what is required. Much more needs to happen. I want us to have energy security. In this regard, the Bill under discussion is essential. I hope it will pass rapidly through the Houses.

My final point is one that I have mentioned twice today. We had a really good budget a few weeks ago that has brought some stability to households and businesses. However, one of my big fears at the moment concerns the fact that six areas in Ireland are having their commercial rates bases revalued. These include County Clare, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Mayo and Donegal. They are facing a 33% increase in their commercial rates. That this is coming in a winter on top of extortionate heating and electricity costs is too much. Those affected are now facing an existential crisis. We had very good measures in the budget to protect and support them but if commercial rates are to go up, we are taking away from them yet again. There are legal provisions for deferring a rate revaluation. We saw it happen in 2020 in the depths of the Covid pandemic. The last rates valuation happened in Clare in 1862, or 160 years ago. If we were able to kick the matter 160 years down the road then, we could surely decide that October 2022 is not the time to burden struggling businesses and kick it further down the road.

This is good legislation. I hope it will pass quickly. Moneypoint is central to all this. There will come a time when we have more offshore capacity but we are not there just yet.

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