Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The impact of the recent heavy snow and of Storm Éowyn has been utterly devastating. It exposed the vulnerability of Ireland's creaking infrastructure. Climate scientists have been warning for years of the increasing likelihood of extreme weather events, yet we were totally unprepared. Households the length and breadth of the country found themselves in desperate situations. In the peak of the aftermath, three quarters of a million homes were without power. Two weeks have now passed and nothing has changed for thousands of people. They cannot wash themselves, turn on the light or heat their homes. For the elderly and those with chronic illnesses, the lack of water and power poses a real risk to their lives. I dealt with people who were trapped in their own homes and whose home carers could not attend to them, people with mobility issues who were getting increasingly frantic with what was happening to them.

In my own constituency of Kerry, people are asking for answers. When will this all of this finally come to an end? How will the Government ensure that we are better prepared to withstand such storms in the future? What additional help or payments will be provided to homes that have had essential services cut off for weeks? In response, the Government has been silent. It declined to recall the Dáil, focusing instead on negotiating eye-watering salary top-ups for a record number of junior Ministers, an indictment of the shambolic response of this Government. I want to commend the extraordinary effort of ESB and Uisce Éireann workers who cleared roads, fixed lines and provided thousands of meals for vulnerable people. Many of them were out day and night over the past 11 days to ensure some type of normality for homes all over the country.

Serious issues remain because we cannot put a plaster over a gaping wound. The devastation of the storm has been compounded by historical failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to build an energy infrastructure which is fit for purpose. Power outages are not a rare occurrence in many areas, particularly in parts of Kerry. One resident in Brosna told me that they and their family experienced a staggering 20 power cuts last year. Others told me about relatives whose lives are regularly put at risk when life-saving medical equipment cannot be charged. Another family told me that they regularly resort to the use of outdated or possibly dangerous heating appliances because they have no other option. While the Government may accept this as normal, we do not. Unlike this Government, Sinn Féin has a plan to deliver an affordable, sustainable and secure energy system that is resilient to extreme weather events. We also want to distribute the burden of the maintenance fairly, for example through the restructuring of network charges and the PSO levy. In the immediate aftermath, Sinn Féin called on the Government to implement a number of measures including emergency accommodation, increased resourcing for local authorities as well as in respect of the issue of co-operation of forestry or plantation owners along maintenance corridors. It has to be said that some of the interactions between forestry owners and the ESB on maintenance corridors leaves a lot to be desired. Some owners of plantations point blank refused to allow access recently to ESB crews. These are people who have benefited from massive State grants and did not have to get planning permission for their plantations. Our recent proposals, however, were ignored. We also encouraged the Government to follow international best practice by introducing goodwill payments. As households pay for the grid through standing charges, it is only right that they should be compensated. Standing charges remain the exclusive domain of energy companies, despite our legislation to regulate them years ago. These same companies continue to make eye-watering profits, some of which recently were at windfall levels, but their communication with vulnerable people left a lot to be desired. Regulation could be one way to bring down energy prices, which remain some of the highest in Europe.

There are also broader structural issues which the Government must address. Investment must be made into Ireland's grid. As is reflected by Sinn Féin's proposal to establish a €2.5 billion investment fund, Ireland also needs to shore up its backup supply of generators. We should not be reliant on generators from other countries that take days to arrive. Household energy self-sufficiency should not be the exclusive remit of those with the greatest means. That is why we propose to overhaul the regressive solar PV scheme to be replaced with an income-based tiered grant scheme. A 5 kW battery alongside domestic solar panels can keep essential services running for up to 24 hours during a power outage. The solar revolution should be for everyone. We also have measures to develop long-duration energy storage to enable island communities to have a backup battery. These are some of the ways that this Government could be better prepared in the face of a changing climate. Instead of burying its head in the sand, I urge the Government to plan now for an electricity grid that is fit for purpose and resilient for our changed times.

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