Níl ganntanas gaoithe againn in Éirinn; tá neart gaoth againn. A windy island on the edge of the Atlantic, our potential for clean, cheap energy is immense. We could and should be a green energy superpower, exporting electricity to the rest of Europe. Instead, we are laggards. People are stuck paying the highest electricity bills in Europe. There are now more than 300,000 households in arrears. People are unable to pay for the basics in a country that is supposedly rich. Some €523 million worth of wind energy was wasted last year because of our crumbling grid infrastructure. That was 10% of all the wind energy produced. Meanwhile, the Government's insatiable appetite for data centres is cannibalising any increase in renewable capacity. The red carpet is rolled out for data centres while people freeze in their homes. It does not need to be like this and should not be. Fine Gael has been in power for 15 years and there has not been one single offshore wind farm built in this country. We have had 15 years without proper investment in the grid and 15 years of being chained to volatile gas prices in a time of global uncertainty. Wholesale electricity prices in Ireland are nearly four times higher than in Spain. Spain is now producing enough solar and wind energy that electricity prices are no longer tied to gas. While the Irish Government has dithered and delayed, Spain has delivered. We can act quickly by rolling out solar panels. They are relatively cheap, easy to install and immediately bring down people's electricity bills. However, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, the Government’s grants are out of reach for people struggling to pay their bills. This failure to deliver is not abstract. It is felt by ordinary people every time they are hit with a bill. This is the legacy of the Tánaiste’s party’s decade and a half in government. The Government has the resources to help people now while investing in our future energy security. We should have wind farms in our seas and solar panels on every home in the country. Our bills should be some of the cheapest in Europe, not the most expensive. Will the Tánaiste support the Social Democrats’ solar for all plan to break our dependence on fossil fuels and give struggling households the clean and cheap electricity they need?

Sentiment score: 0.09

Fine Gael is 15 years in government. It does not have a single offshore wind farm to show for that entire time. Has the Tánaiste nothing to say for himself? We should be a net exporter of clean electricity to Europe. Instead, we are one of its biggest importers of fossil fuels. We have the highest electricity bills in Europe because of the Government’s failure to deliver in terms of renewable energy. It is fine for the Tánaiste to say repeatedly that the Social Democrats are putting forward good ideas, the Government will look at them and they have merit, but we need it to act. People in arrears on their electricity bills need it to act. Why is the Tánaiste just saying that our proposals merit consideration? Why does the Government not actually take our proposals on rolling out solar on the scale we need and bring down people’s electricity bills by approximately 40%, break our dependence on fossil fuels and take the kind of action we need to be a world leader in renewable energy, not a laggard? Why is it taking the Government so long to act in these areas?

Sentiment score: 0.14

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Sentiment score: 0.00