Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wholeheartedly agree with Senator Norris that the tobacco industry engaged in the exact same tactics as the fossil fuel industry, which knew for decades that its activities were leading to global warming but fought and spread disinformation. In fact, some of the same individuals were involved in spreading that misinformation. Exxon's whole campaign has been very well publicised, where America is trying to tackle the damage caused by the fossil fuel industry and what that industry has done to delay all of the world in taking on climate action.

I will pick up on a few points. It is very important to state that I am not saying the Irish Academy of Engineering is funded by the fossil fuel industry. I am saying that when it is asked, it will not give the information as to who its subscriptions are coming from. It will also not give the information on who the experts are on the expert committees. I have heard members of that body on the radio and, with all due respect to them, they are working off a grid that is not the same as the grid we need now. We need a dynamic grid when it comes to energy systems here. Many members of the Irish Academy of Engineering are retired engineers who are working in a system that is no longer the system we need to have for the future. We need a dynamic grid, with batteries on it, and renewables. I have asked the academy who is funding its subscriptions. If it gave me that information, I would not be worried about where its agenda is coming from, but it will not.

On a commercially owned LNG terminal, I am trying to have a code of conduct for fossil fuel lobbyists because, again, they have spread misinformation. We do not have an issue around energy security in this country. In fact, we are the third most energy-secure country in Europe. What we have is a generating issue. We could have all the gas in the world, and ten LNG terminals, but we do not have the generators to burn the gas to provide the electricity. That is why we have now passed emergency legislation three times in this House to bring in new emergency generating capacity. It has nothing to do with the source of gas. It is very important that people understand this is about electricity generation and not about energy security. In addition, as I said, lobbyists have been on the radio spreading and sowing that seed of doubt and making people think the LNG terminal would stop blackouts. It would have nothing do with blackouts, which are about electricity generation. It is very important people get that distinction.

As I said, we are not calling for no engagement whatsoever with the fossil fuel industry. We are asking for a report on the code of conduct so we know who is meeting who, who is funding it, and what they are saying.Recently, I put in a freedom of information request on the oil refinery that has intervened on the windfall tax but the whole thing was completely redacted. We have to take the word of Government that this oil refinery provided adequate evidence to show that it would go out of business if we had enforced a better windfall tax because we cannot prove it. The oil refinery will not give us the information and the Department will not give us the information. When the information comes through freedom information, it is completely redacted. We have to take the Government's word that this oil refinery would go out of business if we introduced a windfall tax similar to other EU jurisdictions and that is my point. We need to have a code of conduct so that we know what it is being said, who they are meeting, and what influence they are having on the future decarbonisation on this country.