Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Rural Independent Group for bringing this motion forward. I accept that we have spoken at considerable length about the energy crisis in the past year, but it is important that we continue to do so because many people are still being left behind and the future for many in the community is very uncertain as the energy crisis continues. Therefore, it is a very important issue to discuss.

I do not want to repeat previous contributions that I made on the issue, so today I wish to speak about what I see as the fundamental flaws in the Government's approach to dealing with the energy crisis. The first point is that the Government relies on the market, not only to address the climate crisis that we are in, but also the energy crisis. There are major issues with that because relying on the market it is too slow, too expensive and it will not result in a just transition. Essentially, the market will deal with people's needs on a monetary basis and will not take into account fairness and the basic needs of people to be supported and cared for. That is a job for the Government. Unfortunately, the Government is not taking the role seriously. It relies far too much on the market as we try to deal with the various crises.

The second point is that the Government tends to wait for someone else to lead. In this instance, when we talk about the windfall tax or the decoupling of the energy, the Government waits for Europe and other countries to lead and then Ireland follows. When it comes to this issue, we need Ireland and the Government to be leaders and to fight for the people we represent. I understand that in some instances it makes more sense in a European-wide market that we work in a collaborative fashion, but there are many things the Government can do to lead on this issue and it has not done so. The Social Democrats has been raising the windfall tax with the Government for a year, yet it has waited for Europe to take the lead on it. As a result, it will be months before the issue is resolved, and similarly with market reform. Spain and Portugal took the lead and represented their people because they understood that their two countries were not quite as integrated into the European energy market as others, which in fact is similar to Ireland. They fought to benefit their countries. Unfortunately, we did not see that with Ireland, which sat back and waited for Europe to take the lead.

The third point is that the Government deals with issues in a short-term fashion. The Minister of State outlined the one-off measures that have been introduced, but the reality is that this is not a one-off situation. The energy crisis is with us this winter and it will be with us next winter. Many analysts believe it will be with us for many winters to come. That is also the case with climate change and the need for climate action. The Government's short-term measures are not targeted enough and they are not matching the money to the people that need it. They are also costly because ultimately it is a very costly exercise, but because it is not targeted it means the Government is spending a lot of money on these measures. Again, that is not money that is necessarily going to be available next year. Corporation tax receipts will not be replicated next year and there is a risk that we will go into recession. We are facing a very different economic environment next year and we do not know what will happen globally and with the war in Ukraine. While the one-off measures have given the Government a little bit of breathing space and may have assisted some people in the current month, it will not give it much extra time. Ironically, the fact that we are having such a mild winter has assisted the Government and therefore the impact we are seeing from climate change is helping at the moment. However, this is something the Government will not be able to ignore for much longer. What the Social Democrats wants to see from the Government is it making homes resilient to global energy shocks and climate shocks and for people to be able to rely on their own capacity to manage energy costs. The Minister of State is no doubt thinking about all the money the Government is putting into retrofitting, but the first point I would make in that regard is that when we look at the amount of money it has put into one-off measures – a budget of €2.4 billion – could he imagine what kind of households and communities we would be living in if the money had been earmarked to build in resilience and to assist two and a half or three years ago when the Government came to power? It would be incredible. Let us compare that with the additional €14 million for solar energy. There is a huge disparity there. The Government is not putting enough focus on making homes resilient.

I will not only be critical of the Government; I will also offer some solutions. I will keep banging on about these solutions because I want the Government to listen. Its current focus should not just be on retrofitting, as that takes a long time and is costly. There is a much quicker way to help people and ensure they get assistance in the medium term. That is through the implementation of solar energy and ensuring that it is made available to as many households and businesses as possible in this country so they can generate their own energy. Solar energy is practical, possible and quick to do. It would build the level of resilience we need within our system and communities. It would not only help with the climate crisis and reduce energy costs, but it would also help with the grid, which is very vulnerable currently and is incapable of dealing with the level of electricity demand the Government has overseen in recent years.

It is a win-win situation if we start to develop solar energy. The difficulty is that it will not be done if we rely on corporations and businesses to do it. This needs major State intervention. The Government must drive a widescale solar investment programme. That means the Government must purchase solar panels. It needs to go to companies in Europe and agree multimillion euro contracts for solar panels, because that is the cheapest and also the quickest way to do it. We would completely overcome any delays in the supply chain by doing it like that. I have spoken to some experts who say it would save 50% to 60% of the cost. That is how it should be done. Once the Government has the solar panels, it will need to put them on people's homes fast. That means going in and doing it by means of State teams of solar experts going around and putting the infrastructure on everybody's roofs. That could be done very quickly. It takes half a day or a day to put it on a roof. By doing that, we would save homes 40% on their energy costs and make them resilient. It would mean the Government would not need to put €2.4 billion into people's pockets next year just to help them get over the winter. It is the most practical way to deal with it. I ask the Government to take the suggestion on board and get it implemented.

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