Accelerating energy transition
Deputy Leddin argued the energy and security crises meant Ireland should speed up the move away from fossil fuels. The Tánaiste agreed and said progress needed to be accelerated, though judicial reviews and implementation challenges remained issues.
The spectre of war looms large at present. This is a very real security crisis and it is contributing to an energy crisis as well. We know we must move away from fossil fuels as quickly as possible, not only for obvious climate reasons but also for energy independence and energy security reasons. There is a vast opportunity to create tens of thousands of jobs in this country. We have a good plan in place, but politics, economics and technology move quickly. We should seek to accelerate and expedite the existing plan. The programme for Government says where we will go, but we need to look at it again and state that we have to go there faster. What can we do to accelerate and expedite the good plans we have?
Comment on this
I agree totally. If the current energy price hikes and the current instability in Russia and Ukraine tell us anything, it is that the sooner we move away from fossil fuels towards greater use of renewable electricity and new fuels such as green hydrogen, the better in terms of energy security and price stability. We should accelerate our plans and ambitions in that regard. How we do that is a matter for discussion. I am not sure how we will do it. I am frustrated by the slow rate of progress. I think everyone interested in this area is. By the way, one issue is the judicial reviews. People seek judicial reviews in respect of wind farms and they will seek judicial reviews regarding hydrogen as well.