National Oil Reserves Agency (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-26
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Alan Dillon (FG), Mayo

I acknowledge and thank all the Senators for their contributions. These are not normal times and this is not normal price fluctuation. This is a severe geopolitical shock that has immediate consequences, not just in Europe but globally. Certainly it is a lot more volatile and severe than what we envisaged following the invasion of Ukraine. We have seen significant damage to key infrastructure in the Gulf and the Middle East. We see huge disruption and direct threats to global oil supply. The International Energy Agency has attuned that to over 20 million barrels of oil a day that have been impacted and with limited access to the Strait of Hormuz, we do not know how long this is going to last. We are seeing exponential spikes in the prices of energy right across the board. For that reason, we need to be honest with people. We will not be able to eliminate or shield everyone or every sector from this impact or from this global shock. That is important to recognise but we can cushion it and we are reducing it. That was seen on Wednesday night during votes where we cut the excise duty on petrol, diesel and marked oil.
What was stark in that vote and in that debate, astonishingly, was that Sinn Féin voted against a reduction in the cost of diesel and petrol at the pumps. To hear today that they are disappointed, when in one sense they are in power up the North, where they have a Minister for the Economy and indeed they continue to blame the British when they do have Executive functions, that they are not introducing any supports until 1 July, namely, a measly €30 on electricity bills. Sinn Féin calls hypocrisy on this side and on the other they do absolutely nothing. Indeed, I hear Senator Conor Murphy talking about excise on home heating oil. Just to correct the record, there is no excise on home heating oil. The carbon tax is excise. We are not returning on the carbon tax. It is modest, predictable and legislated for. It supports the important welfare supports and climate transition programmes, as well as supporting rural communities. It has been instrumental in targeting those in the lower deciles who are at risk of fuel poverty, low-income families and those in most need. Certainly these measures are very welcome.
On Ireland's dependency on fossil fuels, we do need an accelerated transition to renewable energy. That was very apparent here in many of the contributions. We have an accelerating renewable energy task force, and a clearing house now within the Taoiseach's office to bring more renewables on stream, both onshore and offshore.
We have quicker decision-making through the new Planning and Development Act. We have also seen significant funding to the national development plan with regard to grid distribution and transmission. Over €18 billion has now been allocated over the next five years out to 2030. We have directly introduced equity within EirGrid and ESB Networks to the tune of €3.5 billion.
I welcome all the contributions and support for this Bill to move from Second Stage. I look forward to further consideration.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-26/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:47+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-26