James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I raise with the Taoiseach the issue of energy security ahead of the infrastructure meeting. I want to bring forward the idea that Ireland follow suit and join other countries in the EU which use nuclear technology as part of their energy production. Ireland has the highest non-residential electricity prices in the European Union as of 2024, according to Eurostat. Finland has the cheapest because between 35% and 40% of its energy comes from nuclear power. Should we not look at nuclear as a solution instead of focusing on solar, which, unfortunately is taking up huge amounts of good agricultural land in my constituency? To paraphrase the Taoiseach's words on the last day we discussed this issue in the Chamber, we talked then about the transition from the 40 shades of green in Cork East to 50 shades of grey. Local people are not happy about the visual impact visually and the vast amounts of land being transitioned to solar energy. I would appreciate if the Taoiseach would comment on this issue.

See this speech in context