Cabinet Committees
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-19
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

No, because there are other factors. The war in Ukraine was a huge factor. The problem with fossil fuels is that it they are coming from areas where there is conflict. We had a huge problem with Russia invading Ukraine. There was a huge energy crisis because Europe decided, correctly, to eliminate its dependency on Russian oil and gas. There is a war in the Middle East now, with a 20% reduction in world supplies. That has pushed up the price and caused huge problems for us. We need reinvestment in the grid. We have supported and given equity to EirGrid and we are now at the stage where up to €13 billion will be spent over the next five to six years on the grid itself.
Deputy Ó Cearúil raised the issue of nuclear power. I have dealt with that previously. I have no issue with examining nuclear power. It needs to be examined as an option into the future. At the moment, it is gas and renewables and there is a vulnerability on gas importation if anything was to happen to the gas connectors. We know the ships of a third country actor, Russia, have passed over the gas connectors and we have had to go down and check, as have the British. That is a huge vulnerability. That is why we are doing the strategic LNG energy reserve that we are providing in the mid-west.
Deputy Ó Murchú raised the same issue with roads that Deputy Malcolm Byrne raised. Again, that is under consideration between the Departments and we will come back to that.
Deputy Cummins raised fossil fuels and I have said what she said herself, namely, that it has to be a catalyst to more renewables. When I say we need a political debate, the point is that people object to solar, wind energy and gas generation stations. I keep asking myself how we will turn the lights on if we object to all of it. We need to work out, as a country, where we are heading. In terms of AI and data centres, they are a part of the modern digital world. There is no point in saying otherwise.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-19/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-19