Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As others said, this Bill is largely technical, and its provisions to integrate Ervia into Gas Networks Ireland make sense. Since Irish Water was separated from Ervia and Uisce Éireann was created at the beginning of this year, Ervia and Gas Networks Ireland have effectively been functioning as one company anyway. This legislation could therefore be described as cleaning things up, to use that expression, or at least cleaning up the corporate structure. It is a measure that can be seen as largely technical.

Despite the lack of direct policy implications contained in this Bill, there are a number of points to be made specific to its provisions. I want to turn to those before speaking a little more about the context in which we are debating this Bill. First, I am glad to see that the terms and conditions for employees will be unaffected by the transfer that is to take place. Whenever there is any sort of corporate restructuring or merger of this sort, the worker must be a foremost consideration in the minds of decision-makers. For us in the Labour Party, as the party of the trade union movement, that is absolutely the case. It is vital that things like pay, pensions and workers' rights more generally are protected, and transitions of this sort must be seamless. That the Bill makes specific provision to ensure workers’ remuneration and superannuation are protected is also a welcome step. Superannuation in particular, as we are all aware, is a real issue for many other workers in different State and semi-State bodies and the private sector, many of whom have contacted my office when less careful consolidations have taken place.

I have some concerns about the constitution of the board of directors of Gas Networks Ireland. When Uisce Éireann was created, we in the Labour Party were pleased to see that provisions were made for a representative of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, to sit on its board. I am left wondering why the same provision has been excluded from this Bill. It is vital that in State-owned and State-run companies workers have a say in the management of the organisation, and it is the responsibility of the State to set a standard for employment rights, pay, conditions and so on, and to be a best-practice or model employer.

Just yesterday, on Leaders’ Questions, I raised the consequences of an abdication of duty in that regard when it comes to the near-collapse of Government-funded care services that are run by the community and voluntary sector. The Taoiseach effectively washed his hands and suggested there was no direct State responsibility to ensure pay parity between section 39 workers in the community and voluntary sector, and workers employed by the HSE and Tusla, who are delivering the same services. As I said, we believe it is an abdication of duty with what may well be very severe and serious implications for service users, and those dependent on care services provided by these workers, if it comes to withdrawal of labour next month. We hope it will not come to that.

Gas Networks Ireland will be a public utility and it is our belief that union representation in such a utility represents more than worker representation. It is also about representing the public interest. It is in the public interest to ensure the protection of the position of trade unions, and to ensure that trade union rights are advanced as communal rights, as well as individual workers' rights. That acknowledgement must first come from the State. Giving workers a say in the day-to-day affairs of the company would have been a more progressive step, so it is disappointing that union representation was omitted. I know that board appointments will be made by the majority-shareholding Minister, that is, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. We would have preferred for the Public Appointments Service to be utilised for appointments to the board but given that is apparently not the case, I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure that unions, and therefore workers by proxy and also the public interest, are represented on the board. We would like to hear assurances on that. Otherwise, we may submit an amendment on this, and this may well be raised during debates on Committee and Report Stages.

Before turning my attention to the broader topic of our energy gas networks, I would like to make one final point about the Bill's provisions specifically. I note that the board, in consultation with the majority-shareholding Minister, will appoint a statutory auditor. As a State utility, Gas Networks Ireland will be in receipt of a significant amount of public investment and taxpayers’ money. Given that this is the case, the company should be subject to audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General. I would be grateful if this point could be addressed during the course of the debate.

I will now turn to the broader context of our energy infrastructure. We all acknowledge that a very important part of the rationale for separating the operational management of our gas infrastructure from that of our water infrastructure is to help us meet the challenge of decarbonising our energy supply. That is a really laudable aim and, of course, in the Labour Party we strongly support and encourage that aim. The consequences of doing otherwise are appalling in the face of an existential climate crisis, and we are all very aware of that. The consequences are also very practically felt in other countries. We saw in the news this week that a case has been taken by six Portuguese young people in the European Court of Human Rights, who argue that the Government has breached their human rights by failing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Like the climate case we have seen here, we will see more such litigation. Unfortunately, there have been far too many delays and missed targets in meeting our binding climate and emissions reduction targets. I am glad, even in a technical Bill, that we see a small step towards decarbonisation inherent to and underlying it.

The reality is that Gas Networks Ireland must play a crucial role in our transition towards renewables, and towards a carbon-neutral energy infrastructure and a broader green economy and society. Ireland’s gas network is more than 14,500 km long. It supplies more than 30% of our total energy, including 40% of our heat and almost 50% of our electricity. We have debated in this House already the huge burden that is imposed on our electricity infrastructure by data centres, and that is certainly an issue we have raised in the past, as have other opposition parties. It is a real concern. Just imagine the difference we could make in meeting our vital climate targets if we can decarbonise the network. It would be truly transformative.

To achieve this, however, we need to see significantly scaling up of our investment in green solutions, and in renewable gas sources like biomethane or hydrogen, for example. It is incumbent on us all to see the creation of a sustainable, renewable gas industry in Ireland and the State must take the lead. We know that we have the resources to do this and the infrastructure can be there too.

Biomethane, for example, is fully compatible with our current gas networks and, indeed, Gas Networks Ireland has been supplying small quantities of biomethane gas for a few years now. More broadly, this would also bring significant benefit to our rural and farming communities. We often hear a perception that there is anxiety within groups such as farmers around climate action measures. Certain actors would have farming communities believe that the green transition is something to be feared. We know that is not the case and, in fact, the future for farming is through sustainable methods. We have seen wonderful examples of that across the country, such as projects in the Burren and the Blackwater Valley in Cork. Change in the way we farm may be required but there are enormous opportunities and benefits for farming communities there as well. This is one of those benefits.

There is massive potential to create a thriving income source for farmers in selling biomethane produced in the anaerobic digestion process not to mention some of the byproducts, such as the sale of crops fed into the process and the biofertiliser digestate that is produced. There is not only one example. There is a plethora of opportunities to decarbonise our energy supply and provide benefits to rural and farming communities. This sort of benefit is essential to ensuring we have a just transition. For families and households squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis, it is particularly galling to see energy companies making record profits. It is unsupportable that people are facing increased energy costs and fees for energy services when energy companies are making record profits. There has been a slowness and delay in energy companies meeting renewable targets.

We are not seeing the political will to grasp the nettle and take the radical action required to address the climate emergency. While this technical Bill is welcome, we want to take the opportunity to point out the need to do a great deal more. Others have spoken about something I have spoken about many times in this House, that is, the considerable potential for the development of offshore wind in Ireland. There have been delays in the scaling up of infrastructure necessary to develop that potential source of renewable energy. I hear from stakeholders in offshore wind production who are deeply frustrated at delays in enabling the roll-out of offshore wind production. We need to see far greater energy devoted to the development of that source of energy.

In the context of this Bill, Gas Networks Ireland has a vital role to play in our decarbonisation efforts but we need to see it equipped to scale up our transition from non-renewable, carbon-intensive gas sources to greener, renewable sources. The infrastructure may be there but the resources and mandate, as well as the ambition and delivery, are necessary from the Government.

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