Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I echo the pleas Senator Marie-Louise O'Donnell made about personal assistance services and home care supports. These are key proposals within the pre-budget submission of the Oireachtas disability group, of which I am proud to be a member.

I also welcome the proposal to ensure that history is a fundamental part of every citizen's understanding and skills for the shaping of the future. I commend Senator Conway on highlighting the issue in the past. I am happy to accept a reversal when there is a positive reversal of policy. It is a positive reversal of policy.

My key concern is an area where we also need a reversal of policy. Ireland is proposing as one of its special projects of common interest and one of the key proposals we are putting forward the obtaining of special support from the European Union for a liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal in Shannon. When we talk about major projects of common interest, we in Ireland, at a time like now in the wake of Brexit, could be talking about our ports, a major scaling-up in public transport, a completely new approach to public housing or a completely new approach to connectivity with the rest of Europe. We are proposing instead, however, the importation of fracked gas into an LNG terminal in Shannon as one of our key projects for which we want the EU to support us.

It is such hypocrisy. This is about revisiting decisions and looking at them in a new light. When this was originally proposed, we had not banned fracking on our shores. We have since banned it because we recognise the enormous environmental, climate change and health impacts of fracking for shale gas. Why then would we inflict it on the rest of the world and import it from the rest of the world when we know the impact it has on carbon emissions? This is part of a lack of joined-up thinking where we are supposedly divesting from fossil fuels but still giving licences for gas exploration in Ireland even though gas is a fossil fuel. I urge the Leader to take this to Government to reconsider what we put forward as special projects of common interests and perhaps have a debate in this House as to what we believe may be projects of national and European common interest. We certainly need to go back to the drawing board on this.