Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will address a number of the points that have been made by Senators. Three Senators raised the general concept that we are talking about here with regard to security of supply and the fact that the right long-term way to achieve this is by reducing our dependence on oil. Senator Reilly mentioned that in the context of having further offshore wind near Galway. Senator Horkan made a similar point. I thank Senator Reilly for pointing out that we are moving to a broader definition of vulnerable customers and away from just medically vulnerable customers. Those who need energy or heat in the winter or throughout the year are not restricted to people who are medically in need. Also included and individuals who are financially vulnerable.

A question was asked by Senator Horkan - although he did say that he was playing devil's advocate to some extent- about whether the Bill could be used to restrict the supply of oil in response to the climate emergency and the Government could say that this was sufficient. I will address that. The definition of what constitutes an emergency is contained in the Fuels (Control of Supplies) Act 1971. That definition is not changing. We have been using the same one for my lifetime. The legislation came into effect in 1971 in response a number of crises, some of which I am just about old enough to remember. The Senator will remember the formation of OPEC, the revolution in Iran and the lack of oil. These geopolitical events translated into long queues at petrol stations in Ireland and to many other problems. The Fuels (Control of Supplies) Act 1971 was brought in to deal with situations where there might be a lack of oil coming in to the country and to decide how to use existing supplies. The legislation states that this is a matter for Government decision; it is not a decision for the Minister. The scenario the Senator described where the Minister would decide on his own to announce an emergency and would act alone is not feasible or possible under the legislation. Those are the two-----