Energy security is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of any Government. It is the promise we will be able to keep the lights on and keep the country's energy system powered. In this increasingly volatile world, we are trying to meet our energy needs but the Government has utterly failed. What we are presented with is a rushed and flawed solution that is in danger of shifting the financial burden for the Government's failures onto ordinary households. The Government is rushing through the legislation without time for proper democratic oversight or scrutiny. The deadline for Committee Stage amendments was yesterday before Second Stage had been read. This is not about guaranteeing Irish energy security but about managing the failure of the Government to invest properly in offshore wind and to make the necessary progress to ensuring energy independence and energy security. Despite being warned of the dangers of this for years, Ireland continues to rely on imports for approximately 80% of energy requirements, making us the fourth most fossil fuel import-dependent economy in the EU. We import nearly all of our oil and gas and over 80% of natural gas. In addition, under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Ireland relies on fossil fuels to generate 81% of our energy requirements. This set-up was never going to deliver energy security. The risks were well flagged and vulnerabilities were well known, yet Fianna Fáil and fine Gael did not make any progression. For years the Government has failed to properly invest in indigenous renewable energy, and it has admitted this, failing to build the resilience of sufficient system. Now ordinary people have to step up. Instead of fixing the structural issues, the Bill doubles down on the same approach locking us further into fossil fuel dependency and charging the public. It is a fundamental breach of trust and families and workers are already struggling under the weight of the highest energy bills in Europe. We have more people owing on their bills for longer. They should not have to bankroll a Government that has failed to plan and invest and failed to protect our energy future. The Government is supposed to act as a safety net for households and not the other way around. Ordinary people did not decide to leave Ireland dependent on imported gas, they did not fail to deliver on renewable energy and they certainly did not design an energy model that prioritises corporate demand over public need. Sinn Féin is clear there must be no increase in household energy bills to protect Ireland's energy security. Ordinary people must not foot the bill. We have introduced amendments to this effect and they go to the heart of fairness. We propose a legislative wording that prohibits the socialisation of costs across household and SME energy bills, which would mandate that the regulator carries out a full assessment of the impact on household bills and that the Minister would introduce measures to mitigate this. I will turn to the changes the Bill proposes to our planning process. Unprecedented changes such as these require oversight, debate and scrutiny but the Minister of State has refused to engage on this. There are dangers associated with this potentially introducing further delays which could exacerbate the risks to Ireland's energy security. If the public are being asked to consent, then the changes and impact must be made explicitly clear. We wrote to the Minister of State and his officials to provide explicit clarification on the principal differences between the standard planning process for a strategic infrastructure development and-or a standard planning application under the Planning and Development Act 2024 and the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the alternative planning process as outlined. We have also requested this information be provided in advance of the remaining Stages, so that it can be properly scrutinised. I am waiting and hoping that it will be delivered before next Tuesday. We have proposed an amendment to delete the disapplication of the planning Acts. Nobody here is arguing that Ireland’s energy security should not be a priority. We have always said that it should be. Without those protections, however, we will never agree to rubberstamp any legislation to remove the safeguards without clarification and justification and robust safeguards. For example, this legislation fails to guarantee that the floating LNG facility will be explicitly and exclusively State-led. If it is truly strategic, then it should be State-led, publicly owned and delivered in the public interest. There should be no backdoor for commercial LNG. The legislation does state that Gas Networks Ireland, GNI, may apply to the Minister for approval but it does not explicitly rule out infrastructure being led by a commercial entity. Our amendments, therefore, will insist that any reserve should be fully State-led. We are also moving to ensure that the reserve will only be used in genuine emergencies. We will define the reserve as for emergency use only, aligned with EU standards, and prevent its use for routine energy supply. Ongoing reporting will be required to ensure compliance. Without these protections, there is a real risk that the strategic reserve would become normalised and entrench gas dependency. Our other amendments will ensure that such a facility is temporary, with a defined lifespan of ten years, subject to regular review every three years, has a decommissioning plan and is accompanied by independent assessments of whether it is necessary or proportionate and the best available option. If this is an emergency measure, then it should not become a permanent fixture by default. There is concern across the board that this could happen. We are also seeking to reverse one of the elements of this Bill, which is the potential sidelining of community engagement. Our amendment will require meaningful public consultation, including access to information, impact assessments and public hearings, because communities in County Clare must not be cut out of decisions that affect them so profoundly. We are also insisting on honesty about what is driving the energy crisis. Our amendments will require an independent assessment of the impact of data centres on energy demand and an analysis of whether this demand is driving the need for this reserve. We cannot have a situation where households pay more because the structural drivers of rising demand are left unaddressed. We believe this Bill is flawed, unfair, regressive and makes ordinary people shoulder the potential costs. It risks locking us into further fuel dependency and prioritises the wrong interest. Our amendments are about protection. They are to protect households from higher bills, protect the public interest and protect our energy future because the simple truth is that we cannot absorb any more costs. We need a different approach to drive down costs and put the needs of citizens first. We will be opposing this Bill, and I urge the House to support our amendments that put fairness, accountability and the public good back at the centre of our energy policy.

Sentiment score: 0.14