Independent TD, Carol Nolan, has warned that Ireland’s headlong rush toward low-carbon development and the net-zero agenda is unsustainable as “the agenda now faces mounting international pushback and intense scrutiny over its poor cost-benefit ratio.”
Speaking in the Dáil during statements on the Post-European Council, the Offaly TD said Ireland cannot afford to sacrifice energy security and economic reality on an ideological timetable that is increasingly questioned across Europe:
“Instead of doubling down on an agenda whose costs are spiralling and whose benefits are becoming ever more doubtful, we must radically ramp up oil and gas exploration right here in Irish waters.” she said.
Deputy Nolan also pointed to Ireland’s stark energy vulnerability, notably that the country requires approximately 120,000 barrels of oil per day across transport, heating, and industry, yet remains heavily dependent on imports:
“Reopening licensing and getting exploration moving again is an urgent, long-term economic necessity,” she added.
“Indigenous gas production, especially near existing infrastructure, would immediately strengthen our physical security of supply and reduce our dangerous over-reliance on foreign imports. The dwindling Corrib field and our near-total dependence on UK pipelines for gas leave us highly exposed.”
“The net-zero project is under increasing critical scrutiny worldwide because the costs are enormous and the benefits increasingly uncertain. We have the resources on our own doorstep. It is time to use them.”
She also addressed the Government’s recent carbon tax suspension:
“The European Council’s call for an accelerated low-carbon transition must be examined in light of our domestic realities. Yes, the Government has announced a partial suspension of the carbon tax in response to public fury over rising fuel costs. However, the EU-driven net-zero agenda with its binding targets and emissions trading mechanisms continues to impose significant additional costs on households, farms, and small enterprises.”
“What is equally as bad is that the suspension does not alter our commitment to that agenda; it merely delays the pain while the structural costs remain. This highlights the tension of an ideological commitment to rapid decarbonisation that is neither logical, fair, nor balanced. In practice, it will continue to deliver higher living costs without delivering the energy security or competitiveness that Irish families desperately need,” concluded Deputy Nolan.
However, Fine Gael says that the government’s Climate Action Plan will help bring down the country’s greenhouse gas emissions in a way that embraces new technology, creates new jobs, protects rural communities and supports households, businesses and communities to make the transition to a zero-carbon future.
“The proposals we are putting forward are the least-cost, highest benefit, most reasonable measures available. We are taking a sensible, practical approach, one that will maximise the benefits to society and our economy,” the party said.