Energy Security: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-29 ============================================================ Aubrey McCarthy (IND), University of Dublin According to the Minister's statement, we are having this discussion at a time of uncertainty. The Minister mentioned the Strait of Hormuz. Global energy markets are certainly experiencing shockwaves. The ongoing war in Iran has sent shockwaves through international markets, as mentioned, and disrupted oil and gas supplies. It has exposed Ireland once again to the fragility of our energy systems. That is because they are largely based on imported fuels. Throughout Europe, including in Ireland, we are feeling the consequences of rising prices, economic hardships and growing anxiety about the future. I have a haulage business and every week we are looking at the diesel prices and asking if we are able to absorb the increase or whether we should let our customers know we cannot absorb it and then increase the price of an already fixed price. We have changed even the way we are charging. This is not just an ordinary energy crisis. It is a security crisis. That is why I am delighted to see in the Minister's statement that we energy is secure in Ireland. However, Ireland remains one of the most import-dependent countries in Europe. Nearly 80% of our energy comes from abroad, the vast majority in the form of fossil fuels. That means decisions that are made thousands of miles away affect us. Even the Strait of Hormuz, when we see it on the news, impacts everybody out there. That is why we had the recent protests. Also, the Iran war has made the reality impossible to ignore. We saw that when the streets were blocked recently. Since the outbreak of the conflict earlier this year, global energy markets have experienced some of the most severe disruptions in modern history. Prices have surged. Some people have made a lot of money out of that. Roughly one fifth of the world's energy supplies pass through the Strait of Hormuz. That has become a geographical choke point. Here in Ireland the effects have become immediate and fuel costs have risen sharply. That is why the ordinary, hard-working person was protesting recently. That is the price we are paying for our dependency on fossil fuels. When our energy system relies on imports we are definitely not in control. That is not the Government's fault but the Government can change it. Even in the Minister's statement, we see there is an opportunity here. Throughout Europe we are seeing a rapid shift in behaviour. I spoke to a gentleman in Naas yesterday who has a car garage. He said sales of electric and hybrid vehicles have shot up. Households are installing solar panels at a record rate. Demand for renewable technology - solar and wind, as has been mentioned - is accelerating. The Minister's statement outlines how we have made significant steps. I may have missed whether any steps have been made regarding storage. Recently, we were talking about €1.4 million of energy being wasted every day, which is about €400 million a year. If we could store that and work on that, Ireland would have a good starting point. We have made real progress with renewable energy, as the Minister outlined. It supplies a significant amount of electricity. We have set ambitious targets, specifically achieving 80% renewable energy by 2030 and net zero emissions by 2050. Electricity is only part of the picture. Transport, my own industry, still depends overwhelmingly on fossil fuel. Oil alone accounts for nearly half of our total energy demand, and we import all of it. I know there are issues regarding Tarbet power station, the new facility on the Shannon, etc. We have promised it for years. There is a huge challenge in our economy regarding energy security. We are just not producing clean electricity. We need to transform our entire energy system. That means accelerating the transition to renewable energy. There is untapped potential in this regard. The Minister’s statement outlined that in the context of wind energy and emerging technologies like green hydrogen. These are not just climate solutions; they are security solutions. We must electrify our economy, even when it comes to the haulage industry. It must shift away from oil and gas and move towards electricity powered by renewables. That means investing in electric vehicles and modern infrastructure, but supports must be put in place for ordinary businesses. We need to strengthen our energy resilience. The recent crisis has shown the importance of storage. Rather than binning some €400 million of energy per year, we should store it in batteries, etc. There is a need for such storage. The grid will benefit from it. We must recognise that energy policy is part of national security policy. The lesson of the Iran war is absolutely clear. Our fossil fuel dependence has exposed us greatly. Ireland has a choice. Do we remain exposed and reliant on imports of fossil fuels or do we act decisively? --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-04-29/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:52+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-04-29