Energy Security: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-04-29
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Sharon Keogan (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

Last year, in this Chamber, I asked whether we could build Ardnacrusha power station today. It was a rhetorical question meant to highlight how restrictive our planning system has become and how little will this Government often shows. Today, however, it is a serious question because large-scale energy infrastructure is no longer a thoughtful idea but an urgent necessity. The problem is that this Government has adopted an approach that is nearly punitive towards ordinary citizens. Instead of fixing infrastructure first, it tries to force behaviour through price increases. Make energy cheaper through public projects and State-led investment and people will follow. Instead, however, we punish motorists who are only motorists because the State fails to give them viable public transport or properly planned towns. Raising prices is not leadership; it is abdication.
If we are serious about energy security, we must be serious about nuclear power. It provides reliable, round-the-clock electricity, independent of weather or season. Wind power can be cheap at the margin but when grid upgrades, back-up generation, storage and system stability are included, its real-systems cost converges with nuclear energy. Over a lifespan of 60 years or more, nuclear offers price stability and the security that an island nation badly needs.
We must also address the decision to end hydrocarbon exploration. Ireland still imports close to 80% of its energy. Ruling out domestic production outright makes us more, rather than less, exposed. Limited, well-regulated drilling could reduce imports and provide transitional revenues for infrastructure. That only works if the State captures proper value. Norway taxed profits, took public stakes and invested for the long term. Ireland did none of that, but we can change it.
Energy security will not be built through penalties and slogans. It will be built through courage, infrastructure and the will to build again.

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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