Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. Profiteering on war is wrong. We have seen significant profits being recorded by the fossil fuel industry over the past two years, even while energy prices for consumers rose constantly. While I welcome and acknowledge the support from the Opposition for this important Bill, I listened to some of the debate on Tuesday. I do not want to tar all of the Opposition with the same brush, but I was amused by the too little, too late response to the Bill from some in the House. It rang hollow on two principal counts. The first of these is that Ireland has set the contribution at 75% of windfall earnings, which is the highest rate in Europe by a long shot. Romania is the next highest at 60%. Most countries went with the lowest allowable contribution under the EU regulation, that being, 33%. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste are to be commended on the leadership and ambition they are showing. This country is leading the way in capturing windfall earnings, returning those gains to the people and, critically, keeping fossil fuels in the ground.

The second reason the too little, too late narrative rang hollow is that so much was already being done to protect families and individuals from the surge in energy costs even before the EU regulation was introduced. Some €5 billion has already been invested to assist Irish people with the increased energy costs brought about by Russia’s appalling and horrifying war against Ukraine and her people. It is worth putting on the record some of the measures that have been introduced: last winter’s €600 electricity credit and the €200 credit the winter before for every household in Ireland; the €400 fuel allowance lump sum; and the extension of the fuel allowance qualifying threshold and the expansion of the scheme, which meant that up to 81,000 new households were supported with their fuel costs for the first time. There have also been across-the-board welfare increases of €12 per week, which took effect from this January. Other measures include the €200 lump sum payment for those in receipt of the living alone allowance, the extension of the VAT cut on gas and electricity, the extension of the 20 cent cut in excise on petrol, the 15 cent cut in excise on diesel, the €500 lump sum under the working family payment for those on low incomes, a double payment of child benefit last November, an extra €100 per child in child benefit this May, free schoolbooks this coming September for primary and special schools, the €500 payment for those in receipt of the carer’s support grant, and the €500 payment for those in receipt of the disability allowance. These payments are in addition to a number of other social welfare increases, such as an extra week of welfare payments on top of the Christmas bonus, an extra week of children’s allowance and a €10 increase in weekly welfare payments. The Economic and Social Research Institute’s assessment of last year’s budget was that it would insulate most households from rising prices in the winter just gone, and it did so. The ESRI stated these measures were large enough to leave the lowest-income households better off on average once inflation was taken into account.

It is estimated this Bill will accrue between €200 million and €400 million.

This will be ring-fenced spending for even more measures of the sort I just mentioned. I want to be careful not to say this is about all opposition, but it is certainly about some of the opposition we are hearing in relation to this Bill. Opposition is a fundamental part of our democracy, and good government depends on it. I think it is fair to say that the opposition itself must be good. In the guise of holding the Government to account, dismissing this or previous measures implemented by the Government as too little, too late or inconsequential is really not being serious. We deserve better in this House.

War and fossil fuels go hand in hand. We have seen that throughout the 20th century and in the early part of this one. In the past 18 months, fossil fuels have been used as a weapon of war by Russia against Ukraine in the first instance, and against the people of Europe who are overwhelmingly on the side of Ukraine and her people. This reliance on fossil fuels, the flow of which is controlled by a dictator, has been an attempt to force hardship on consumers here in Ireland and all over Europe as gas prices have increased tenfold. It must be clear to everybody, if it was not before now, that fossil fuels are not the future of our energy system, not alone because of the existential crisis of climate change, but also because in the hands of tyrants and dictators they can be used as weapons of war. We also know that if we have any chance of meeting our global climate objectives, we must keep fossil fuels in the ground and we must power our lives and our economies by renewable energy.

While we have a lot more to do, we should be proud that Ireland is powering ahead with the clean energy transformation. This is our future. It has been my vision for Ireland for more than two decades, and it is indeed my vision for my home city and county of Limerick that we are at the heart of it. That is where our future is. In respect of that transformation, last month I was delighted to see Limerick move one step further along with the new partnership between ESB and the Shannon Foynes Port Company. The plans include an upgrade of the deepwater port, the restoration of a rail connection, the development of an offshore wind construction and plans for offshore wind and hydrogen production on a massive scale. Just today, the Government has granted the foreshore licence to permit the development of the major subsea electricity cable across the Shannon Estuary. Once completed, this will transport renewable electricity from the south west of Ireland to the east, and the cables will connect at the substation at Moneypoint, where significant investment and upgrades are under way to facilitate our green energy future.

We are in the middle of our energy transformation. It is an exciting time for my own part of the country, the mid-west, and for Ireland as well, notwithstanding the huge challenges we have. The new industries will bring high-skilled jobs to our region and will have a significant economic impact on this country. It will ensure our regional towns and villages thrive and will lead to many spin-off industries.

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