Paul McAuliffe: Europe must treat energy shock as an emergency

Go raibh maith agat Cathaoirleach, agus go raibh maith agat arall. I want to just commend the Minister for staying here in the House for the debate. I think it's important that Ministers who are representing the country abroad do hear the differing voices here in the House, and I think these European Council statements are always a very valuable exercise in trying to, for us to put on the record our own views, but also to influence our Ministers when they're representing us abroad. So I want to commend the Minister for that. Can I just say at the outset, it is very welcome to see the change of government in Hungary. I saw a photograph earlier this week of the Council of State here in Ireland meeting, and I just thought it was a perfect capture of how strong our Republican constitutional democracy is. The idea of an elected President using her powers outlined in the Constitution to consider a bill that was passed in this House, and for representatives of both Houses of the Oireachtas and representatives appointed by the President to consider a bill. And for that to happen, and for it to be dealt with in our Constitution, the Constitution that dates back to 1937, I think sometimes we take for granted how strong our Constitution is, and we can see how easily, in places like Hungary, a European country's Constitution can be eroded by an authoritarian regime. And I think we have to be very careful of that within the European project, and I think Michael McGrath is doing significant work in terms of the rule of law in the European Union. So just to say that from the outset, Minister, this morning I was out canvassing in Beaumont. You might think that European Council statements were not high on the agenda, but international affairs were, and many people who spoke to me were incredibly concerned about the impacts and the costs of what is happening in the Straits of Hormuz and in the Middle East. Because whether it's home heating oil, or whether it's the price they're paying for petrol or diesel, they're seeing the real impact of how war disrupts economies, has devastating impacts in the locations where they are, devastating impacts on the lives of the people living there, and devastating impacts on the global economic growth. And what's very clear, and I heard that Taoiseach piece this together, is that Europe is now dealing with the impact of two very significant wars within our geopolitical sphere. The war in Ukraine, which had incredible impact in terms of gas prices, the corresponding impact then that that had in terms of global supply chains, in terms of food costs. And now we see, in terms of the cost of oil, the impact that that's having. And I suppose as we look forward into the coming months, I think we need to be incredibly careful as to how we as a country proceed, but how we as an economic bloc in Europe proceed. Because there's no doubt that the increase in oil prices does have a significant impact on economic growth, and I hate to use the R words, but recession is something that is always possible. And I think we need to be very careful as to how we proceed. People on the doors are talking about those costs. And we should acknowledge that those people who are protesting in recent weeks, and I distinguish those who are protesting and those who are blockading, but those many people who are protesting were people who were experiencing those costs. I acknowledge the measures that the government put forward, firstly 250 million and then 750 million. And that is about essentially tax cuts to try and support people in terms of their costs. But we shouldn't forget that that's also then income for gone for other public services. And I think as we proceed as a country, we also need to be cautious about what we can do sustainably over the long period of time, while always making sure that the strong economic model we have here benefits those people on the ground. Minister, at a European level, I think Europe has been very strong in terms of acting a block at times, very strong. And we saw that during COVID and so on. I think at times when we're divided, I think very poor response. And I think a number of speakers have mentioned the European response to what happened in Gaza. And I would always cite that as being a time when I was not proud to be European, that I was very disappointed in the European response. But I think in terms of how we proceed on this issue, there's two elements. There's the short term measures that Europe can take. And I think every we saw when the package was being put together, there was so much of that package that was impacted by European regulations, by European rules. We have to look at how we can make European countries agile and nimble and being able to respond to what could be an ever increasing cost of oil. That's the first thing. I think the European Union needs to treat it as an emergency. And they need to empower European nation states to respond, as I say, to protect their citizens. But secondly, and it's a very obvious, but sometimes disputed concept, we do have to transition away from carbon fuels. And while we are doing a huge amount in this country, and I think what we're doing in terms of retrofitting is incredibly significant. Again, I come back to Beaumont. Every third or fourth door I came across, there was retrofitting that had been done. Often older people who wouldn't otherwise have been able to avail of it, but did because of the change that this government has made in terms of the fuel allowance, and therefore then access to the Better Energy, Warmer Homes scheme. So we need to do more in terms of it. But the European Union needs to support countries to do that. You know, it's interesting when you speak to many people who are experiencing those costs, how much it impacts them. But then when you speak to people who maybe made that change to an EV, and it's not always easy, although it's much more possible now with second-hand cars and so on, that people who have made that change to electric vehicles aren't feeling that same pain in terms of their transport costs. And so there's a lesson there. And the lesson is that when we help people transition, that that has a direct impact in the short term and in the long term. And I think while the European Green Deal in some ways has fallen off the agenda, and there's a big focus on deregulation, and I don't necessarily think that deregulation or simplification, as it's often called, is necessarily a bad thing, I think our long-term commitment to climate change and to environmental impacts of carbon fuel, we have to stick with it. And the carbon tax is something in this country that can be very controversial. Those people who I would describe as being at the populist end of the spectrum, very easy to say that we should pay less tax. But the reality is tax allows us as a country to do certain things. And whether that is investing in the retrofitting program, or it's about supporting farmers, the carbon tax funds that transition. And we have to make that transition in the longer term. Europe needs to help us do that. And I would like to see the European bloc do more. And finally, in the last number of seconds that I have, as I say, we have two wars. We've been very strongly supportive of Ukraine, and rightly so. But what's happening in the Straits of Hormuz, what's happening in the Middle East, is having a direct impact. And I want to see the European bloc now step up and be part of the global conversation about what happens, and about trying to bring an end to a war that's having massive economic impact on all of us here in Ireland and elsewhere.