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Seanad
‹ An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

Energy policy and GAA paywall

Summary

Senator Burke called for the Minister for the Environment to debate energy security, targets and the role of Coillte and the ESB. Senator Lombard then criticised pay-per-view coverage of GAA games and asked for a debate on sports funding.

I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to come into the House in respect of the energy situation. Where are we going? How will we meet our targets by 2030? Where are Coillte and the ESB going and what will they do? They are the two big energy players here and it is nearly impossible to see what their plans are. A large number of farmers want to get together and to know where they can enter the grid. They need to speak to the ESB and Coillte. It is important to have a debate here on that.

I am disappointed with the increase in the standing charge. It is a retrograde step by the ESB to increase the charge by such a high percentage. Not alone do we have that charge, we also have the PSO levy. If you apply for a connection to a house, you have to pay for that connection. If there is a disconnection, you have to pay for it. If there is a reconnection, you pay for it. You have to pay for all of those charges. Why is there such a thing as a standing charge? The standing charge or the PSO should entitle customers in some way to get retrofitting done to their houses or maybe that annual charge could be increased but would involve concessions for householders, allowing them to offset some of their carbon footprint. At a time when the ESB is making €200 million profit and gives a commission to the Government of €126 million, the increase to the standing charge by such a very significant percentage is an area we have to have a debate on in the not-too-distant future. I ask that the Leader bring the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, into the House to debate those issues.

Comment on this

I raise our national sport, the GAA, and how a percentage of those games are on pay-per-view platforms. We do a great deal to support the GAA and are all actively involved in it at local level, in particular. To have a scenario whereby some games will only be available on a pay-per-view package, whether it is Sky or whoever, is inappropriate. Ireland is a sporting country. It is so involved in this and to have your county on a package that you would have to go to the local pub to watch, in some cases, makes no logical sense.

I propose a debate about how we fund sport with the Minister of State with responsibility for sport. He should come to the House. We should acknowledge that we do so much to fund these sporting organisations; because of that, these games should be on platforms like RTÉ so everyone can watch them. Unfortunately, if we go down this line, it will become nothing more than an elitist organisation and we will lose the focus of that community spirit which has made it so great over the past century.

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