Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I, too, send my deepest condolences to the Fitzpatrick family and our colleague, Mary, on the death of our former colleague, Dr. Dermot Fitzpatrick. It is a very difficult time for all of them.

I stand today to call for a debate on energy security and the cost of energy. I would like the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to come to the Chamber to talk about what the Government is doing and can do to support families. I know it is a really complex issue in one way but there is also a moral issue. We must have a discussion on the energy we waste. We waste millions of euros of energy in this country every single year. It is wrong that we dump so much energy off our grid. I recognise there are technical and electricity grid-based challenges that need to be addressed. We all know that with regulatory and political will, however, these things can be achieved. In the short term, I urge all Members to look into EnergyCloud, which is a not-for-profit organisation with a mission to create solutions to divert surplus renewable energy into Irish homes, with a primary focus on fuel poverty. This is something that can be done. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, has a pilot project with Clúid Housing and EnergyCloud. It is about getting excess energy - that will otherwise be dumped, in fact - into lower socioeconomic homes. I would really like the Minister to come here and talk about these things to create the framework and listen to the ideas of Seanad Éireann on how we frame a positive sustainable way out of this energy nightmare.