Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I have been following this for a number of weeks and I know that Ukraine once again will dominate the agenda next week when the Taoiseach is in Brussels. I will make a few points in that regard on the domestic front first of all.

Ambassador Filatov continues to be an enemy of the Irish State, not just of the Ukrainian state. He is an enemy of our State and has been for many months. His conduct and his disdain and disrespect for the bodies of State in this country are absolutely deplorable. I know the Government took the view ten or 11 months ago that it was important to keep diplomatic links open and that he should be allowed to remain here.

There is a certain logic to that but I would like the Minister of State, when he responds to this round of discussion, to outline how Ireland Inc is engaging with ambassador Filatov at this time. Is he invited to or, more importantly, excluded from State functions? It is important that it is made very clear to his embassy and staff that they are a negative force at present, and that their illegal, unlawful and barbaric invasion of Ukraine, which is seeing many young people killed there, is something this country absolutely condemns.

I believe the Black Sea grain initiative, which has been a vital corridor for exporting Ukrainian-produced food items through solidarity lanes, will be discussed next week. I hope that initiative can be further expanded on. It was quite successful last year, in particular as regards winter feed for farmers. When I studied geography for the leaving certificate, Ukraine was known as the breadbasket of Europe. It is where most grain cereals come from. We need to ensure, for food security alone, there is safe passage for freight and cargo ships taking grain and Ukrainian produce. I hope there can be a more expansive view on that because at the previous European Council meeting, it was a subheading in a larger debate. It needs to have more prominence. The people of Europe and, indeed, Ireland are experiencing unprecedented prices at the supermarket and food security will again be key as we work our way through 2023.

On the home front, the country is very proud of the role it has played in taking in so many Ukrainian refugees. I made the point during Questions on Promised Legislation that, at present, approximately 3.5% of the entire population of County Clare are refugees. They have fled the war in Ukraine or are seeking international protection here. They are very welcome. Although it has been a strain, the communities and public of County Clare and of Ireland have, in general, been very warm and receptive. The point I made, and I hope the Minister of State will take this up with the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is that the co-ordinating body for all of this - the international protection accommodation services, IPAS - has dropped the ball in recent weeks. It has not paid hoteliers, in some instances, since as far back as November. I know of one hotel in County Clare that had Irish Water technicians arrive at its door yesterday and shut off the water because the hotel owners were unable to pay their bills. They do not have any other revenue stream. The hotel is not hosting weddings at weekends and does not have a tourism trade. The owners have a hotel full of refugees for whom they are providing a high level of care. That is their only room occupancy and, ipso facto, their only revenue stream at this time. To not have a single red cent of income coming in since November is quite unforgivable. This is an administrative flaw. There is somebody in the Department who needs to sign off on these payments. This needs to be moved on.

I am hearing, loudly and clearly, that some hoteliers along the west of Ireland will very quickly pull out of these contracts and not for all the reasons people speculate on. It is not all about refugees versus tourism. Of course, that comes into play, certainly as we head into the summer season, but it will not just be for that reason. It will be because so many of them are left out of pocket, are floundering and are having their utility services cut because the State has not reimbursed them for the services they are providing. I hope there will be a certain expediency to resolving that.

The next two issues I will raise deviate from the issue of Ukraine, which will of course dominate the agenda. The first is that of farmers and nitrates. Many Deputies have been invited to on-farm briefing sessions over the past number of days hosted by the Irish Farmers Association, IFA. The IFA and the farming community in general are saying a pause button needs to be hit regarding the nitrates directive. A certain body of research is being undertaken at present in Ireland, which is being led by Teagasc at its Johnstown Castle facility in County Wexford. That research is not yet complete but, time and time again, policy seems to be outpacing this issue, so much so that we are seeing full-time farmers revert to part-time farming and part-time farmers leave the sector entirely. Ireland has the capacity to be self-sufficient in the provision of food but the more we squeeze and pillory farmers, and make them the scapegoats for climate change, the more they will exit the system. That would be a very retrograde step, not just for the landscape but for food security and the whole supply chain of rural Ireland that feeds off farms.

The farming lobby is quite strong in Ireland but, to give the Minister of State an example, the farming lobby in the Netherlands is so intense and powerful that the new Lelystad Airport outside Amsterdam, which has been built for a number of years and is ready for aeroplanes to take off, has not opened because the farming lobby has said that enough is enough, that it cannot always be pitched against other sectors of the economy and that it must be given certain protections. I am not saying we should get to such a high level face-off in Ireland. I do not want to see that but we need someone in the Government pushing back and saying enough is enough. When the Government goes to Europe, it should not allow the entire agenda to be dictated by some countries that have no knowledge of the Irish farming system. It is a grass-based system, and is environmentally friendly, animal friendly and climate-change friendly. Cows, cattle and ruminants have existed on this planet and on this island for many thousands of years before there were any humans, double decker buses or jet planes in the sky. The farming community cannot always be the fall guy. I ask the Minister of State to take a stand for farmers and ensure they are protected. For the record, I am a farmer and, since 1 January, have switched to organics. We are all willing to make changes. I have started cycling to Leinster House, along with taking the train. Everyone is making changes. At this stage, everyone in Ireland is green, with a lowercase g. A small cohort with the uppercase G sit in this House. Most people have gone a little greener in how they see the world and how they react and engage with it.

Energy security also seems to be a constant feature of European Council meetings. When there are summits and discussions, energy security has to be in sharp focus, and more so now that we are still in a war situation with Ukraine and Russia. The phased development of offshore floating wind farms along the west of Ireland is illogical. Time and time again we have seen surveys that prove the best wind corridor in all of Europe is that along our western shores on the Wild Atlantic Way. That is the best wind corridor. It is far superior to anything Norway, Scotland or Wales can boast. We have the best wind coming in, which can be lucrative. It can generate not just enough electricity for Ireland but enough to export, for a decent tariff, to mainland Europe vis-à-visan interconnector.

The approach at present is a phased one. A large offshore area off the coast of County Donegal has been earmarked. It does not make sense why that is one of the priority zones, while others are sacrificed. There is no high-powered kV cable system from County Donegal. It is a very important county but in terms of EirGrid and our national grid, and carrying a very high voltage of electricity throughout the country, it is peripheral to the existing network. The best network in place comes from Moneypoint in west Clare and runs across the middle of Ireland. That is the kind of system we need to have. However, we have seen the Department put a zone off the coast of County Clare that is far too small. The worry is that all these investors who are lining up to invest along the west of Ireland will clear off and invest in other countries. To quantify that, at present projects to the value of €76 billion are just off the west coast of Ireland. They are not going anywhere near the coasts of counties Wexford and Dublin; they are all on the west coast. The real worry is that if policy does not shift quickly and embrace what they can offer, these groups, including Equinor, which left two years ago and went overseas, or Shell, will all leave. This can be lucrative for Ireland and important in achieving where we want to be on climate change. However, if the policy is not right, the whole thing crumbles.

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