Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak today on Government commitments on offshore renewable energy referenced in the Policy Statement on the Framework for Phase Two Offshore Wind. After reading the policy statement, I have to say I am less than impressed. The statement lacks any real detail and its commitments are vague and unclear. The first line states, "In response to the unjustified Russian aggression against Ukraine and the resulting twin energy price and security of supply crises across Europe, the Government is accelerating the roll out of offshore renewable energy." This is absolutely ridiculous. Is the Government trying to suggest that it is only prioritising offshore renewable energy because of the war in Ukraine? It seems that everything these days is done in the name of the war and not for the good of our citizens or the environment. We should be investing in renewable energy because it is the right thing to do and because it will create a better environment for our children and the generations that will come after. This alone is reason enough to be doing it. While the war in Ukraine may be a contributing motivation to develop renewable infrastructure, it is important the Government expressly recognise the urgency in its own right, apart from the current war. When that war ends, will our need for renewable investment end too? No, I do not think so.

Second, and perhaps most importantly, it is overdue that the Government take back our services into State ownership. Should this proceed, this offers a fantastic opportunity to build a State-owned electricity service. We can use it as a vehicle to create more apprenticeships, skills and employment while we utilise our capacity to generate vast amounts of renewable energy. The time for privatisation of public services has ended.

Further to that point, I note the target of 2 GW of floating offshore wind for additional non-grid use. I am cautious of any potential moves to privatise the resource and take this opportunity to urge the Government to ensure all offshore wind is created for national use. I am also cautious of our offshore energy going directly to places like data centres in the future, as we continue to build more and more data centres which are putting significant pressure on the national grid. We need to ensure the points where it comes to shore are monitored by the State and not by private developers.

The grid must be upgraded. As it stands, it is not fit for purpose, and while we may proceed to create a policy that allows for the creation of greater amounts of power, it will mean very little if the grid is outdated and unfit for purpose. As well as this, the bureaucratic procedures must be as efficient as possible. Complaints from the relevant professional sectors following the implementation of the renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, a few years ago noted that while they were ready and able to go, the paperwork procedure in Ireland, in comparison with the UK and other EU counterparts, was cumbersome. Note that just last year Shell pulled out of a large offshore contract for this very reason. While I care little for the loss of large international corporations availing of Ireland’s resources, I do care that the relevant professionals and experts may be held back due to outdated bureaucratic protocols. While it is important we grow and develop our renewable energy sector, preferably as a State-owned enterprise, I am glad that it has been noted in the motion that any development must be in consultation with eco and habitat research to ensure as much as possible damage to habitats, flora, fauna and marine life are mitigated within the realm of proportionality.

This policy statement lacks any mention of households or domestic users, and so I ask what Irish households are getting and will get out of this. It seems Irish households are increasingly getting less while large energy consumers continue to get more. In the past five years, we have seen a massive increase in large energy users in the State, with a 285% increase in electricity usage by large energy users which was being subsidised by the State and, indeed, as we found out, by households, because we were giving huge amounts of money to the ESB to give cheap electricity to the multinationals.

I urge the Government to make sure the north west is not left behind. Killybegs is ideally positioned to help with the development of more offshore energy as the town has immediate access to the highest offshore wind speeds in Europe. Donegal should be given the opportunity to avail of the benefits of this energy. Before this can happen, however, we need to update the electricity network and the infrastructure in the north west.

I welcome the development of renewable infrastructure, but it must come with an improved grid and the creation of a State-owned and State-operated energy service. All the households in the country should benefit equally from this.

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