Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions Dail Éireann — 2026-03-24 ============================================================ Michael Collins (II), Cork South-West Ireland has walked blindfolded into an energy crisis, not by accident or misfortune but because consecutive Governments chose to leave our country exposed and dependent on others for the most basic lifeline we have – energy. The price of those choices is now hammering every single household and business in this country. In 2022, during Leaders Questions to the current Taoiseach, I raised the Barryroe oilfield and demanded that Ireland build real energy independence. Later that year, I spoke of a floating gas terminal off Cork harbour. I warned that relying on imports was reckless and dangerous, and the Government laughed off my warnings saying it is fine. Well, it is not fine. The people of Ireland are paying dearly for that Government arrogance. Fuel prices have jumped again and again in recent weeks. Hauliers are warning they cannot keep the wheels turning. Farmers, tradesmen, fishermen, home help, carers, school bus drivers, ordinary squeezed-middle families and 1.5 million elderly people are being squeezed until they break. What does the Government do? It tells people to wait. Last week we were told by the Government there will be no knee-jerk reaction and to be patient. Even yesterday, a coalition source said that the Government cannot shield people. While it cannot shield people from everything, the complete green agenda of the previous government is coming home to roost, which was to make sure to never prepare our country for the future but tax the living daylights out of every citizen in this country with 65% fuel taxes, like VAT, the NORA levy and carbon tax, making the motorists of this country a cash cow for the Government like no other country in the world. This is a total failure of planning, leadership and responsibility by this and other Governments. A country that imports nearly all its energy, taxes fuel at 60% to 65% and blocks practical solutions for security is not transitioning; it is stumbling. While Irish families struggle, other countries are securing their futures. Europe and the rest of the world is planning. Ireland is panicking and being called the laggards of Europe. In 2022, I spoke to the Taoiseach about the Barryroe oilfield because it represented something bigger – not just an oilfield but a political system that refused to even access its own resources while continuing to rely on foreign fuel. It is complete neglect by government. Beyond Barryroe, Ireland still has no clear, credible path to energy independence. Imagine after a Green Party in Government, solar systems cost up to €20,000 to run a home only gets a measly €1,800 grant. This is not transition; it is a slow motion collapse and the Government is participating in what is happening. People are paying more because of the choices made at the Cabinet table, choices based on ideology instead of practicality and choices that have left Ireland more rather than less vulnerable. We did not just leave ourselves open, we left ourselves defenceless. Today’s announcements help those on fuel allowance. That must be welcomed but the squeezed middle gets 20 cent a litre off diesel, which is the same amount as it went up last week. There is 2 cent a litre for the farmer and fisherman, which leaves the country in a very angry state and both those sectors furious. Ireland needs an immediate, urgent national plan for energy independence and not in 2050. Will the Taoiseach outline this plan today? --- 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/dail/2026-03-24/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:03+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-03-24