Varadkar slams 'wrong' oil exploration ban bill
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has accused People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith of "getting it wrong" with her Climate Emergency Measures bill, which targets a ban on future oil and gas drilling in Irish waters.
It followed a new report claiming that a similar ban recently introduced by the New Zealand government could cost that country NZ$28bn (€17bn) in lost revenue over the next 30 years.
Ms Smith used yesterday's leaders' questions session in the Dáil to urge the Taoiseach to free the bill to help it towards select committee debate.
She said "procedural trickery" was at work in holding the bill "hostage" before the environment committee, which again this week failed to reach a clear vote on its progress.
Ms Smith said she had no confidence in the Government's ability to do "anything meaningful" on climate change, which she described as "the biggest challenge facing humanity".
The Taoiseach said action had been taken on a number of things including supporting renewable energy growth and removing coal and peat from the national grid. But, he said People Before Profit had "got it wrong" on the exploration issue.
"I think you've got it wrong in terms of climate action; I think you've got it wrong in terms of energy security; and I think you've got it wrong economically," Mr Varadkar said.
Most people interested in climate science understand natural gas is a transitional fuel and that we will need it as part of our energy mix for the foreseeable future if not for decades to come.
"If we have our own supply we should use it and not be dependent on Russia, the Middle East or Venezuela for our energy needs. We should use our taxpayers' money on public services rather than importing natural gas from other countries," he said.
Meanwhile, the Irish Offshore Operators' Association called the latest blocking of the bill's progress at committee level "an important outcome"
It recently estimated that a single commercial oil and gas find in Irish waters could deliver tax revenues of around €11bn to the State and create more than 1,500 jobs per year over the course of the project lifetime.
"Although we recognise the intent of the legislation... banning offshore exploration in Ireland would not reduce emissions, would threaten Ireland’s energy security and would impact our economy," it said.
