Gabhaim buíochas leis na Daonlathaithe Sóisialta as an tairiscint seo a chur chun cinn. Tacóidh Páirtí an Lucht Oibre leis. One of the greatest risks we face as a country is our overdependence on fossil fuels. The climate crisis is existential. Even if we leave the fact of our dying planet to the side, the surge in prices over the past number of weeks due to Trump and Netanyahu's illegal wars has illustrated in no uncertain terms the financial costs associated with our continued dependence on oil and gas. Maybe we finally have an argument for a switch to renewables that even the climate sceptics will listen to now that their pockets are being impacted. Time and again, workers here have been expected to absorb the consequences of global geopolitical upheaval through higher petrol prices, higher home heating costs and more expensive commutes. The eruption in frustration and anger that we saw on our streets last week was the result of years of what feels like a perpetual cost-of-living crisis. Unfortunately, the Government has offered next to nothing to households that are struggling to keep up with their energy bills. We know that there are 320,000 households in long-term arrears on their electricity bills. That is 320,000 people unable to cope with the mounting costs of keeping their home running. Figures released to me by the CRU recently have shown that the total value of debt held in arrears by these households is about €185 million. To put that in context, the Government package yesterday for the haulage and farming sectors was worth almost three times the amount it would cost to write off that debt. There was virtually nothing in that package for regular PAYE workers. As usual, they have been left high and dry by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents who remain in government. The events of recent weeks must serve as a reminder to the Government of the urgency with which we need to transition our economy away from its reliance on imported, intermittent and expensive fossil fuels and towards clean, indigenous renewable energy. Where is the urgency when it comes to developing our offshore wind capacity? We are being left vulnerable to an increasingly unstable geopolitical arena and it is ordinary households that are paying the price. The Government and, in particular, the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, talked a lot about energy security, but it is interesting that the approach they have landed on to achieve energy security is to import more LNG - a highly polluting fossil fuel - and drive a stake through our climate and planning Acts in the process. We will not reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by importing more fossil fuels. We will not ensure our security of supply by continuing to rely on volatile and increasingly intermittent fuels. Moreover, the European benchmark price for LNG soared by 60% in the days following the launch of Trump and Netanyahu's illegal war on Iran. We have been told that developing an LNG facility would cost about €1 billion over the course of a decade, and we need an updated figure on that now from the Minister because, presumably, the Department had not accounted for price fluctuation of as much as 60% when it was doing the maths. We also need transparency from the Government regarding who is going to pay for that. It will not be large energy users like data centres. It will not be our biggest polluters. It will be ordinary households funding it through higher network tariffs and higher bills. They will be paying for it, as always. Opposition Members on the climate committee have called on the Government to halt this proposal and carry out a new energy security review. In light of the recent events, I reiterate that call in the strongest possible terms. Fundamentally, the only way we are ever going to end this cycle of energy crisis after energy crisis is by ending our dependence on fossil fuels. We cannot perpetually tax cut our way out of them. I spoke last night of my deep disappointment and disgust that of the many different policy options open to the Government to alleviate the cost of energy, it has decided to jettison and dump carbon taxes and the polluter pays principle. I do not know how the Government has not gotten this yet. The only urgency we have seen from the Government from an energy perspective is the attempt to run roughshod over our planning laws in order to speed up the development of the proposed LNG terminal. Where is that level of commitment when it comes to renewables, developing offshore wind infrastructure and solar energy? Look at what the UK is doing with plug-in solar panels? Where is the necessary level of commitment when it comes to decarbonising our transport sector, electrifying our haulage fleet and making electric cars more affordable for low-income households? This most recent crisis is further proof of the case for moving away from our reliance on fossil fuels. If this Government will not do it for the good of the climate and our environment, it should do it for the good of our constituents - our people who are feeling the consequences of the dependence to which I refer in their pockets.

Sentiment score: -0.07