Results 66,001-66,020 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The Government put the dividend into its pockets so that it would have more money to spend on goodies in the election of that year.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: In 2003, the same Government went back to the ESB, claiming to be concerned about energy costs. On that occasion, it took €67 million and stuck it in its pocket again.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: In 2004, it came back and took a further €77 million from the ESB. Its Deputies have the neck to come to this House and start prancing around and talking about its energy policy. The Government does not have an energy policy.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: It is totally bereft of policy in that area.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The only thing that Government Deputies are doing is reading glossy magazines which tell them that energy prices will be at a certain level in 100 years' time. They will not be here then. Indeed, they will not be in government for much longer, fortunately. If the Government stays in office much longer and continues to act as it is at present, many consumers——

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The Minister of State might be there, but many consumers will have to leave.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: In 2005, the Government returned to the ESB once more, despite all the chat we have heard about energy policies. The Government is part and parcel of the process that creates high energy prices.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: It took €72 million from the ESB in 2005. In the last four years, it has taken €260 million from the ESB and stuck it in its pocket. It will spend that money in the budget to buy votes from the electorate.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: As if that blunt instrument was not sufficient to assuage the voracious appetite of the Government, it will have taken €316 million more by the end of the year than it would have got if the increases had not taken place.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I have seen many crocodile tears shed in the past two nights and I must say the Government Members should get an academy award for acting as they are capable of doing nothing else.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: They are a disgrace because they have ignored the fact the Irish consumer is as much entitled to get the benefits of the international downturn in energy prices as anybody else.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: They are obviously incapable of reading. For the benefit of those who cannot read, I will show them a graph I have.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Ireland's prices are on the graph and I hope those who have difficulty reading will not be shocked if I show the graph again. The graph shows what the Government is charging the Irish people and what it is imposing on the Irish people.

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The sad thing is that if the Government survives for another five years——

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: ——I assure the House that industry and the consumer will have a huge bill to pay as a result of what the Government is doing. The Government wants to drive up energy prices, bring in more money in VAT, levies and dividends from the ESB and walk away. However, the electorate may yet have something to say about that. The Minister decried the fact that Fine Gael did not want to become...

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Fine Gael produced an energy policy independently long before the Government had the guts to do it. We costed it and priced it, but the Government did not intend to do that because it was afraid to do so. It was afraid to produce a White Paper so it came up with a different Green Paper, because Government Deputies did not have the guts to go to the public and state their case. They spoke...

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: It is a good job they are not allowed to control the air in the same way they can control the fuel. There is only one way to have a proper competitive energy policy in this country that would be of benefit to the economy. We must invest in the alternative energy area to such an extent that it is grown quickly. The Government promised to do it and it is a wonder we have not been told it will...

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The Government is part and parcel of a litany of failures, such as failure to recognise, failure to hear the words of the people, failure to respond to the needs of the people and failure to take action when it could and should. We all know that the Minister can influence the regulator and that the regulator consulted with the Minister before he acted. He did not do that on his own; he got...

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: This represents a number of failures. It represents the failure of the regulatory system to respond to the ongoing needs of the international market trends. It is a failure of the Minister to instruct——

Energy Resources: Motion (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Bernard Durkan: He is subject to the Government's policy and the Minister's instructions. Either the Minister instructed and the regulator told him to clear off, or the Minister failed to instruct and the regulator rang him up and asked the Minister for his instructions and then claimed he was independent. As long as the Minister remained silent, the regulator could do what he had to do. This is a burden...