Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I too thank People Before Profit for this motion here this morning about driving down the cost of energy. I am not pointing the finger at that group but quite a number of people in this Chamber talk about driving down the cost of energy but at the same time, they will have supported the carbon tax increase that crippled the Irish people in respect of extra costs on their fuel, their home heating oil and on their day-to-day bills. We are living in very difficult times and I know that every chance that we have here in the Dáil, especially with the Government, it blames the war for everything. The blame for the crisis we have in this country is because we are not fuel-independent and we have to be. There is no point in people coming in here and waffling and spinning and saying that we do not need fuel and that we must do without fossil fuel. Unfortunately, until something better comes along, which is not here at this present time, we have to have it.

I have spoken here quite often about the Barryroe oilfield and I am ashamed to talk about it because we are bringing in every type of fracked gas and everything from the UK and there is not a single word of worry in the world from Deputies that we are doing that. At the same time, when someone says in this House that we could have our own clean fuel here, like at Ballyroe, or the LNG floating terminal off Cork harbour, a proposal which I put before the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan; not a thing happens then here.

We continue to import from the UK and we are completely dependent upon the UK for our fuel. We have to have it, which I understand and respect, but we could have our own fuel and put in a provision whereby were these companies to succeed at sites such as Barryroe, they would pay for the wind energy that would be coming along the line in ten, 15 or 20 years’ time. Even the best experts in the world have been caught out on public airwaves because when they are shouting about wind turbines at sea, or whatever - which would be the dream for this country - on being asked when it is going to happen, they say it will be in 2035 or 2040.

That is where we are at this present time and until then, we will have to continue to live accordingly. I have heard people talking about the SEAI. We know the delivery times there where people are waiting for over two years to have their homes insulated. This is very unfair because these people are perished in their homes at these times. This is the coldest week of the year and many people did not have the money to heat their house and had no choice.

We live in a world, in this country in particular, where we seem to be chasing the ordinary person. I made the valid point a week ago in the Dáil where a gentleman down my way cannot put one bag of turf on the back of his trailer in a market and sell it because he is not allowed to do so. Some decent people would like a few lumps of turf to throw on their fire, nothing major. I am not talking about trailers here but just one bag of turf in order that he could sell it but he cannot. At the same time, you can fly 400 jets out to COP27 and fill them full of people so that they can have a good two or three weeks in the sun talking senseless rubbish, when they could have been at home doing this via a Zoom meeting. What damage did that cause to our environment? There is not a worry in the world and nothing will be said about that. It is okay to damage the environment in that way but if an innocent man is to sell a bag of turf from the back of his trailer so that he can heat somebody’s home, he will be banned from doing so. That is what the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, told me when I recently asked him this in a parliamentary question, namely, that he is not allowed to do so.

I live in an area myself where we are totally dependent on fuel and the cost of it because there is no public transport. Public transport is at zero, has not improved and I am worn out from saying that in here. It is not improving,. The Government is frantically talking about improving public transport but talking about it and having it happen are two different things. West Cork is non-connectable at this present time and that is not good enough.

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