Carol Nolan: Condemns rural job losses, demands power plants reopen
Carol Nolan criticised the government's energy and rural policies, accusing it of imposing an unfair and unjust transition that is destroying jobs and risking power shortages. She defended dairy farmers, saying they were encouraged to expand herds and are now being blamed for emissions, and she called for the reopening of power plants at Shannon Bridge and Lanesboro.
Accusations against Deputy Bruton
The deputy opened by saying that Deputy Bruton "has an absolute brass neck," arguing the government encouraged dairy expansion only to now single farmers out as the cause of emissions. She warned the electorate will remember and said rural communities are being punished for policies detached from reality.
Impact on Lee Shoffley and Offany
She said her constituents in Lee Shoffley have been "decimated by ideology" and accused the government of imposing an unjust transition with no alternatives or new jobs. She claimed her county of Offany will face 53% of the job losses and criticised the speeding up of the transition timeline previously described as a 20-30 transition.
Power plant closures and electricity blackouts
The deputy cited the closure of the power plants at Shannon Bridge and Lanesboro in County Longford and linked those closures to current electricity blackouts. She urged the government to reopen the plants, warning the policy direction is "dragging us back to the dark ages" and risks leaving people without basic electricity.
Criticism of ministers and policy
She criticised the minister for appearing to accept the accelerated and harsh transition, saying the policies are extreme and radical. She said the measures are imposing "terrible, terrible hardship" on rural people and called urgently for common sense and a reversal of the decisions harming her constituents.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
I just want to begin by saying that Deputy Bruton has an absolute brass neck. He was part of the government that encouraged dairy farmers to increase their herds only a few short years ago. Now many of those dairy farmers are now being told that they are the cause of many of the emissions. It is not right or proper and no way is that acceptable. You seem to think that the electorate has a very short memory but I can tell you something. You are going to get your answers on the door in rural Ireland because you are punishing the people of rural Ireland constantly for a fantasy and an aspiration that is totally detached from any reality or any logic. That is my view and certainly the view of many of my constituents in Lee Shoffley. Lee Shoffley has been decimated by ideology that is not connected to any sort of reality. No alternatives put in place. An unfair and an unjust transition imposed on my constituents. No alternatives and no alternatives in terms of jobs. Nothing. You closed down power plants, the power plant in Shannon Bridge, the power plant also in County Longford at Lanesboro was closed down. Now we are faced with electricity blackouts. What sort of logic prevails there? Is there any common sense in government? I mean it is just unfair and it is beyond belief what you are actually doing to people. You are imposing terrible, terrible hardship on people. My county of Offany will face 53% of the job losses because of an unjust transition. We were told we had to 20-30 to transition and then that was sped up. Now Minister Brogan comes in here and seems to think that that is acceptable. Well I can tell you from where I am coming from and from my constituents who are suffering, it is not acceptable. It is not acceptable. It will never be acceptable and it is high time that this government woke up because the policies are extreme and radical and we need common sense and I am urgently calling on government to make sure they reopen the power plants at Shannon Bridge and Lanesboro. This government is dragging us back to the dark ages, quite literally. We will not even have basic electricity. Thank you Deputy. Thank you Deputy.
Thank you for downloading 🙏
If you publish this material on social media, we would be very grateful if you tagged VideoParliament. It helps us reach more people and keep building a transparent archive of Irish politics.
