I support this important Bill. Often, Government TDs assume things will go ahead and Ministers will lead the charge, but it is important that we stand behind them and explain the benefits. When I was a councillor, I saw infrastructure in small, local ways, such as local bridges, roads or maybe a burst water pipe. In here, however, we are looking at the national issues. Coming into the national Parliament, we are so much more conscious of what is going on internationally. Deputy Devlin spoke about how energy has become key to the national conversation, but it is also key to the worldwide conversation. We often read about how energy is the key to national autonomy. If a country does not have access to energy, it is at risk of compromising its freedom. Obviously, I am not saying we are compromising our freedom but, at the same time, we need to ensure that we have opportunities for everyone. That is what this Bill is allowing us to do. The Bill is not saying that we have to go in one specific direction. Rather, it is a part of a range of different targets and things we are putting in place to provide us with greater energy security. As Deputy Devlin outlined, it is not all about focusing on this specifically. This gives us the opportunity to seek other ways. As someone who was a CFO of a solar energy company, I know the benefits of renewables. I would be the first to say that renewables are the way forward. I would put them on every roof in the country if I could. It is important to push for that, as well as ensuring we have offshore wind infrastructure. Those are important to do. In response to Deputy Ahern, no one on this side of the House is losing that focus. We are really focused on that. I can see that all across my party. At the same time, we are trying to put options and opportunities in place. It is about putting storage and back-up in place. Ultimately, we would all love it if we could just build wind farms and have it all done in the morning, with windmills outside our houses and everything solved, but it is honestly not as simplistic as that. I listened patiently to Deputy Ahern for quite a long time. There is both good and bad in the different points he made. I agree with some of them and, obviously, I fundamentally disagree with others. I disagree with his description of the ethos on this side of the House. Ultimately, everyone in this Chamber wants what is best for the country and for the future of our children. We all want what is best for our families in many different ways, children or not. We are trying to secure their future. Deputy Tóibín will have different views, as will Deputy Cronin, but we are all coming here for the right reasons. We might have a different view of how those rules should be applied. Some say we should do less, while others say we should do more. I do not think anyone would be more aware of what the needs and requirements of the people in Clare are than the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, who is sitting on the Front Bench. More than anyone else, he fundamentally knows the impact on the locality and, more importantly, the broad opportunities that exist in this situation. To speak to the wider point, the infrastructure committee launched its latest report, a key part of which was the Critical Infrastructure Bill. The country and Government are doing well economically. No one needs me to say we are running budgets surpluses. We are an anomaly in the western world with the amount of money we have. We are very successful in that regard, but we must ensure we are investing it in infrastructure and the future of the country. This is one such step. I know Members might have a different view in this regard but if we do not put those templates in place, we will not be able to develop in the future. This is what this Bill is part of. I want to make sure the Minister of State knows there is good support on this side of the House, rather than simply hearing the negative from the other side of the House. It is important we build that future because, ultimately, we are all here to do the best on behalf of the country. We may have slightly different ways of doing it but this is an important step towards energy security, which is a huge issue for the country. I welcome the opportunity to support the Bill.

Sentiment score: 0.25