Has the Government itself done anything?

EirGrid, the national grid operator, has issued a stark warning that blackouts are almost certainly on the cards because of the negligence of the Government. It is not the first time; it has been making these warnings for ten years and Governments have refused to listen. The red carpet is being rolled out for data centres, yet we cannot build houses or connect public transport. We are told the lights could go out. What steps is the Minister taking to eliminate any risk of blackouts due to the threat to grid stabili…

I see what the Minister is saying, but will there be a prioritisation framework so, for example, housing and public transport can be prioritised ahead of data centres? It is one third of our electricity and it is predicted to go much higher. It is already causing grid interventions and higher household bills. In the midlands in particular, it is preventing housing being built. Data centre demand has skyrocketed and gone out of control. It could not have been anticipated five or six years ago how high it would go - …

The Construction Industry Federation has said housing delivery is being held back by significant delays in electricity connections. Last year, while 60,000 homes were commenced, completions remained far below what is needed. The Minister is saying housing is a national priority but the energy policy allowed massive developments to absorb grid capacity first. We are not, contrary to what the Minister says, anti-tech or anti-business. It is about sequencing, fairness and priorities. The data centres can wait for thei…

What steps is the Minister taking to shield households from the energy crisis, which has been triggered by the US and Israeli attacks on Iran? Will he make a statement about it? He will have seen that over the past couple of weeks, the Government lost the confidence of the people, even one of its own Ministers. The Government has not done enough, particularly for people whose home heating oil bills have effectively been doubled. There are 750,000 households affected, often in rural areas, often in single dwellings,…

We saw yesterday the Taoiseach clapping himself on the back because, since 2022, the worst of the rises in electricity bills had been cushioned by supports given by the Government. In this regard, there were electricity credits promised in the run-up to the election. However, the supports have been stripped away, leaving ordinary householders even more exposed. Compounding matters was the dismissive attitude of the Taoiseach. The Minister may or may not wish to comment on the Taoiseach’s comment that he hopes there…

Unfortunately, last time I checked it was oral questions to the Minister and not questions for the Opposition. Unfortunately, the Minister has not dealt with my questions. That he answered a question with a question makes me wonder whether he is from Kerry, by any chance. He has not answered any of the questions we have asked. What specifically will he do to ease the burden on rural householders posed by the price of home heating oil? The protests over the last week are the tipping point. They are the final straw f…

All across Europe, community energy is thriving, in places like Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Scotland in particular. Communities are building wind and solar farms, district heating systems and energy co-operatives. They are lowering bills, keeping profits local and accelerating the transition, doing exactly what Irish communities want to do. Here, in respect of the small-scale renewable electricity support scheme, SRESS, we are told it is up and running but there are difficulties. I want the Minister of St…

I know the review is taking place, but will the Minister of State tell me exactly when it is expected to give its findings? As I said earlier, and as the Minister of State acknowledged, there are barriers. Only eight projects have qualified and not one has been built. While it looks okay on paper, there are serious problems with the scheme in practice. There are massive delays in the enabling grant. There are huge ESB network connection costs. These projects are made almost impossible financially. Having access to …

The Minister of State has not really answered the question, though, as to when exactly the review will take place. Is there a deadline on it? Let us be honest, the problem is that in Ireland there is only one community-owned renewable energy project above the 50 kW level, that is, in Templederry, and that was built more than a decade ago. Since then, there has been a huge demand out there and a huge hunger for sharing the benefits of renewable energy properly within communities. I see it is in the programme for Gov…

When will the review be completed so that things can be pushed forward and the bureaucracy and problems can be ended?

I recently met with the parents of an adult child with an intellectual disability. They told me that they were involved with the Before We Die campaign. Over 2,000 parents over 70 years of age are caring for adult children with intellectual disabilities, a rise of 20% since 2020, and there are nearly 500 who are in their 80s. These are parents who are mentally, physically and emotionally stressed as to what is going to happen to their children after they pass away. It is woefully under-resourced. People with disabi…

I thank the Minister of State for his speech. We support the intent and objectives of this Bill. Cleaner air is something that every one of us wants for our families and communities, and for future generations. We agree that local authorities do need stronger powers. We all know that the main sources of air pollution are solid fuel burning and transport emissions. While air pollution is often framed as an urban issue, it is very much a rural problem too. Across my own county, families depend on solid fuel for their…

I thank the Social Democrats for introducing this motion here today. We know energy prices have risen by 11% in a single month and 12% over the past year but the Government’s response to that has been nothing short of paralysis. At the same time wholesale energy prices have collapsed. They are 72% lower than their peak in 2022. With the commercial mandate, as sure as night follows day, price gouging is inevitable but the Government has left the regulator toothless. It refused to regulate the standing charges and it…

You got rid of them.

Anyone with any interest in the League of Ireland knows there has been a huge increase in attendances at League of Ireland games over the past few years. In my county, Kerry FC has started from a low base and it has added so much to the fabric of the town. It is a place to go, even socially, every second Friday night. Those spectators are part of the more than 1.1 million people who attended games last season, an overall increase of 8%. There is no doubt, as we heard earlier, that the League of Ireland is severely …

Over the past month, we have seen the Government drop ball after ball. It has been unwilling to talk, slow to make a decision, refusing to listen and unfit for Government. When it allows a situation to run out of control, it panics and it talks about bringing in the Army and putting it on the streets and it attacks the media. The time has come for TDs to make up their minds. Do they believe the Government has handled these situations well in general? It is not just last week, since 28 February or the presidential e…

Under the helm of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, critical deficits have opened across almost all sectors from transport to housing, water, energy infrastructure, healthcare and our digital systems. Successive Governments have allowed dangerous gaps to open between the Ireland this Government claims we are and our critical infrastructure that we just cannot rely on. Under Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the remaining Independents who support them, critical deficits are far from being the exception. They are visible, they are…

Across the State there are families standing in cold kitchens looking at empty oil tanks. Workers are seeing the fuel gauge drop on the school run unsure of how they are going to pay for the next fill as prices at the pump spin out of control. For four long weeks, ordinary people watched with increasing anxiety while prices skyrocketed with the price of diesel up 55% and home heating oil, which was the source of the largest number of complaints I received in the constituency of Kerry, doubling in costs. One bill I …

I move amendment No.1: In page 3, between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 34 of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 1. Section 34 of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 is amended by adding a new paragraph after paragraph (2): “(3) The Minister shall, within three months of the reduction of the NORA levy during the period identified in section 37(1A)(b) coming into effect, prepare and lay before Dáil Éireann a report examining the impact of providing this reduction. The r…