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THE DÁIL WAS suspended twice today following a row over proposed laws that would ban the granting of any further oil and fossil fuel exploration licences.
People Before Profit’s Richard Boyd Barrett accused the government of blocking TD Bríd Smith’s Bill for “political reasons because the Taoiseach and government do not support its contents”.
He accused the government of “dancing to the tune of fossil fuel companies”, adding that procedures are being used to “hold hostage” the Bill.
“You think you can get away with this by shenanigans,” he proclaimed.
The Bill calls for a ban on fossil fuel exploration off the Irish coast and aims to stop the issuing of any new licences for the exploration of fossil fuels.
The government lost a vote on the proposed legislation last February, which allowed it to proceed to Committee Stage in the Oireachtas, despite the government’s opposition.
The passing of the Bill puts Ireland on a path to being the fourth country in the world to ban fossil fuel exploration.
Costa Rica, Belize and France have already implemented similar measures.
At a private meeting of the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment Committee this week, the vote was tied on whether to have a report on the proposed Bill sent back to the Dáil, therefore blocking its progression through the Houses.
There were heated scenes in the Dáil toda when Boyd Barrett first angered Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl when he said the government was deliberately delaying the legislation, stating that committee members on the Oireachtas Environment Committee were being used to block the Bill.
He said it was a “sabotaging of the democratic process” of the Dáil, stating that the House voted “overwhelmingly” to pass the legislation last year.
“This is a very serious abuse of the democratic process of this Dáil,” he added.
The Ceann Comhairle suspended the Dáil for five minutes, but when it resumed, it was then suspended for a second time, when Boyd Barrett raised a point of order, and refused to sit down when Leas Ceann Comhairle Pat the Cope Gallagher was standing.
The Leas Ceann Comhairle then threatened to suspend the Dáil for the entire day. The House was suspended for ten minutes. “It is you that are responsible for the abuse, not us,” said Bríd Smith.
Last October, Minister of State for Rural Affairs and Natural Resources Seán Canney dismissed the Climate Emergency Measures Bill, describing it as “extremely worrying”.
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You got to laugh at Pat “the Cope” Gallagher suspending the Dáil for 5 mins as RBB was bringing the “house into disrepute” , Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been holding the whole house in disrepute since they went into this supply and CONfidence sham of an arrangement.
Amazing how fast the gavel comes down when there is muck to be thrown at this government
@Pixie McMullen: Well said. The main opposition party have a written agreement pledging to not oppose the government. Completely undemocratic behaviour. Fianna fail – oh how the mediocre have fallen.
@The Risen: I reckon Confidence and Supply is the future. If FF, FG and SF won’t coalesce with each other then we are looking at a minority government again next time out with one of the three being supported from opposition by one of the other two. The numbers don’t add up any other way unless there is a major love in after the next election
@The Risen: They fell as far as I’m concerned when they screwed over the entire COUNTRY in 2008-2009, due to their handling of the economy.
Even if a licence was granted for exploration of our sea’s it would be sold off if anything found.
@Dave Barrett: Sold?? If only.. They just give it away!!!
@Rob Cahill: exactly.
“Now that I have received the fat brown envelope, it has dawned on my that Ireland cannot extract this, fat cat multinational inc. has offered to help”
Our minimal gas and abundant fishing waters were given away for a song.
That’s the same Rich Boy Barrett who got his car fixed at public expense and justified it saying he had to drive in from Dun Laoghaire “sometimes twice a day” poor thing.
@Paddy Murray: If you can’t attack the message, attack the man, right Paddy??
@Paddy Murray: Yeah, it is the same Richard Boyd Barret who used the money ENTIRELY within the rules
According to the Leinster House sources, the TD is allowed to have his car repair costs included in his travel expenses. Under the rules, TDs are entitled to take a number of other travel costs into account, besides fuel.
These include oil, tyres, insurance, car tax, driving licence, AA membership and maintenance, such as car repairs.
You should be asking about Paschal Donohoe who claimed €9000 travelling expenses for cycling 4 KM to work
@The Risen: Paddy Murray is a Journalist for the Sunday World and has written for the Herald, sure what else would you expect from him?
@The Risen: in fairness, it is hypocrital of Boyd Barred using his car to go to and from DunLaoghaire twice a day when there is adequate public transport he could be using, given his opposition to fossil fuels.
@Pixie McMullen: Do they pay for anything themselves it’s a great life.
@Paddy Murray: All TD’s get fuel, wear and tear allowances for the use of their private cars. Is it only ok for FFG do get these expenses?
@Pixie McMullen: There’s not many jobs (unless you are BIK’d) would give you that kind of perk: …oil, tyres, insurance, car tax, driving licence, AA membership and maintenance, car repairs.. that’s some list all the same! I wonder if this perk is taxed.
@Charliegrl80: The civil service mileage rate normally covers all that for ordinary workers use of their private car. Seems like a very nice perk to me.
@James Wallace: Actually a good point; could he not hop a DART or 46A…?
@Pixie McMullen: an odious pisshead.
“sabotaging of the democratic process” – that’s FFFG for ya
Thank God that the bill in question has been blocked, if that is actually the case. For the good of the current and next generation of Irish energy consumers, this far-left piece of legislation must never become law. What that socialist bill would do is keep Irish people dependent, indefinitely, on foreign imports of energy such as oil, coal and natural gas. This would mean much higher energy prices for heating one’s home, driving one’s car, running a business and running public transport, than would otherwise be the case if we could extract our own oil and natural gas. The now-blocked bill is a taster of the economically-suicidal policies that a socialist government would introduce in Ireland. It is proposed legislation that may have superficial appeal for some idealistic people who like to follow trends, but it is very necessary for Ireland that this anti-energy bill is blocked permanently.
@J. Reid: This bill was passed by the Dáil overwhelmingly. INCLUDING the government. What percentage profit are we receiving from Shell for the Gas pipeline in Corrib again??
@Pixie McMullen: Shell are gone now, they sold off their share to Vermillion.
@Robert Conneely: And with a huge loss $1bn….
We sold out to vermilion also loss only $145m
That company is gone also
@Pixie McMullen: When they get to profit its 25%
@J. Reid: Energy prices, gas oil, are set internationally and the transportation costs, and other bits and pieces added so home generated oil and gas will cost the same…..although intially BGE did get a 10% discount from Kinsale
The alternative is import oil from Saudi Arabia and gas from Russia….Better to have our own supplies of gas and oil….
@iComment:
Correct. ‘Renewable electricity” currently provides just 15% of the total energy Ireland requires per year.
@Jaycee Laycee: That is commitment by 2020 to have 16% of total energy used from renewable sources….At present 22% of electricity is from wind and solar…However need gas powered turbines to back them up when there is no wind or sun….
@iComment: Its never going to happen
@iComment:
People seem to forget that the country’s main energy comes from non renewables. All of our electrity could come from renewables and it would still mean a reliance on fossil fuelled energy.
Add 2 million new electric vehicles to the grid and you’ve major supply problems.
Jaysus lads, calm down, wouldn’t want to be discussing something important or worthwhile now, would we?
@Brian Guilfoyle: Seriously? Fossil fuels and climate control aren`t important enough for you?
@Pixie McMullen: straight over your head.
@Pixie McMullen: whoosh!
@Pixie McMullen:
There is no such thing as climate control.
Stop making things up.
@Jaycee Laycee: Climate control exists alright. I have it in my, wait for it, …. car.
@Michael Lynch: cool! ( see what I did there?)
A ban? Companies since the late 60′ have drilled almost 160 wells offshore Ireland results 2 commercial finds, Kinsale and Corrib both about 1tcf recoverable.
Wells have been drilled off the west coast at enormous cost, in 1996/7 a well was drilled in the south porcupine basin, cost $70, this I know as I accounted for it, we found a dinosaur foot and lots of water.
Drilling costs now off the west coast are $200m plus and while a few have been drilled nothing was found.
Nobody is drilling off the west coast and the reason is cost and its extremely high risk.
Should someone find a commercial prospect development costs would run into the hundreds of billions, the west coast is considered in the top 5 harshest conditions, mainly due to weather, sea conditions and depth.
The last round of licences produced no takers, none.
So, banning something that isnt happening is typical PBP populism, its a pointless bill.
We presently depend on interconnectors for gas all oil is imported by tankers, it should be mentioned a fair slice of our electricity is imported also, we are literally and the end of the line and if something happened in Ukraine we’d be in the dark.
This bill is a nonsense, it does nothing for climate change or our CO2 emissions and I doubt it was designed to. This is grandstanding, claptrap, get a bit of media have a row.
We have resources that are practically free, many towns in Ireland had mills, that infrastructure is still there, mini hydro electricity is cheap its clean and it works.
Towns could set up co-ops sell the electricity back to the grid or use it themselves.
Same with wind and incineration all proven to be clean internationally.
We are living a day , sometimes hours away from capacity on the energy grid.
Bills should be about investing in local energy generation and becoming less dependent on outside suppliers, not this drivel
@Paul O Mahoney:
They were predicting oil/gas bonanzas back when I was a lad in secondary school. We were all thinking we’d be working on rigs ……. or flying the helicopters!
@Michael Kavanagh: I know after Kinsale in 73 drilling took off .In the 90s we drilled a four well program in the celtic sea, ballycotton was “found” we knew it was there before as we drilled it in 73 capped it as it was tiny.
Now its used as storage, or was, buy cheap in the summer sell in the winter.
Lots of lads trained, most ended up in Scotland
@Paul O Mahoney: 2 successes in 160 is about the same success rate as Australia, I think, and they’re well on their way to self-sufficiency. You’re right about it being a harsh climate here, but Atlantic Canada makes it work, and they get what we get before we get it. An oil find makes anything possible!!
I believe the 2015 licensing round was our last one, and it was actually pretty successful: there were 43 license applications and 28 awarded. Companies are interested and may become more interested after a single large find. Providence are apparently the only ones really trying, planning one well this year. Nobody’s interested in gas right now though, as far as I can see. It’s easy to produce in the North Sea and too cheap to bother exploring for, despite our guaranteed market.
Ireland needs to get real on this issue, but we don’t seem to have a politician willing to think long-term. Are we going to actually move away from oil and gas, or just talk about it? Because you’re dead right – as of now, we’re doing a lot of talk and no action.
While I agree with your sentiments on micro-generation, I don’t see that powering the Intels and Allergans of the country. Great for houses, sure, but not so great for factories. Waste heat from industrial zones needs to be piped to anyone that can use it and geothermal needs to be tapped. Then the 50% transmission losses in Ireland’s electrical grid could be tackled. As an island nation, I can’t see us replacing jet fuel or HFO/MGO ship fuel in my lifetime.
The truth is, we’ll always need oil and gas on some level – these arguments about a total ban are merely a distraction from realistic thinking
@Charlie Carlisle: Of course the correct thing to do is wrap ourselves tightly in an ultra hard left politically correct straitjacket. Particularly now when our resources are uncertain!
@Paul O Mahoney:
Thank god for some sense about this. You’re dead right. It just seems like headline grabbing, it’s not like we’re at 98% renewables and no longer need fossil fuels. Instead, they want us to use more fossil fuels to transport fossil fuels into Ireland, instead of trying to find some closer.
@Charlie Carlisle: Great points but Australian one I doubt.
Most of Australian oil and gas is north of Perth into the Timor Sea..
I have a friend out that way, they have more but its on land a far easier to exploit.
We need to start thinking a sum of parts, hydro, wave/tidal, wind ,solar, incinerating with traditional oil and gas…..
Our grid also needs to be open to small producers…..
@Paul O Mahoney:
Installation of battery storage can ameliorate the unevenness of supply of renewables.
Fossil energy, whether from Ireland or abroad is expensive, uncertain and unnecessary.
It should be national policy to be self sufficient in renewables and in the supply chain to produce and maintain battery storage.
I really thought that yesterday’s performance by FG FF beat any circus and I was disappointed that it wasn’t highlighted enough by any tv stations or the Journal .Both party’s were like children who lost their favorite toy .So today a little tantrum and RBB is all over the internet.
They’re called “natural resources” for a reason. They’re natural and man’s use of them is natural.
Don’t see the silly greens getting so upset about them being used to make batteries solar panels and turbines from them.
Yesterday Dail time was wasted by Provisional SF’s latest stunt, now People Against Profit are at it, lefties proving again how unsuitable they are in to be in our national parliament
@Stephen Kearon: How does it feel to be a member of a party acting as Simon Harris mudflap.
@Stephen Kearon: Unsuitabe like Harris, Doherty, Zappone, Ross?
@Stephen Kearon: You`re lot gave us Haughey, Ahern and Cowan…. ye have had some dirtbags in that party of yours altogether
@Stephen Kearon: Provisonal SF? was it not a member of your party that gave away the rights to oil&gas fields some years ago.
Or is it a case of not remembering what the party you support have done over the years.
@The Risen: I suppose that Martin Ferris and Pearse McAuley suit you better!
Corrupt corporate governance
Enough ole Fossils sitting in that chamber to fuel a nuclear submarine for forty eight years,, approximately!! Yup for sure fuellinfollils!
Enough ole Fossils sitting in that chamber to fuel a nuclear submarine for forty eight years,, approximately!! Yup for sure fuellinfollils!
Saps!
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