Danny Healy-Rae urges Shannon LNG progress, slams energy regulator
Danny Healy-Rae spoke on 14 January 2026 about the gas safety framework, energy security and rising electricity costs. He welcomed putting the gas safety framework on a statutory basis, pressed for progress on Shannon LNG and Kinsale gas storage, and criticised the energy regulator for inaction on price rises.
Gas safety framework
He welcomed statutory backing for the gas safety framework and said trained, qualified installers must handle gas works to protect households from dangerous and explosive risks.
Shannon LNG and supply diversification
He urged the minister to end delays on Shannon LNG, arguing the country cannot remain dependent on a single supply from the East and needs diversified gas sources to keep energy and electricity flowing.
Kinsale gas storage proposal
He repeated longstanding suggestions to use the old Kinsale gas field for storage, buying gas when prices are lower to avoid purchasing at peak rates and to reduce exposure to volatile market prices.
Regulator and electricity prices
He criticised the energy regulator's apparent absence and blamed it, and ultimately the government, for unchecked electricity price increases since "Bournemoune" closed in 2020. He demanded the regulator ensure fair pricing and to act on sharp price rises from electricity companies.
Impact on households
He highlighted the human cost of high energy prices, describing elderly and low-income people who feel guilty about heating, cannot afford turf or upgrades like underfloor heating, and face a soaring cost of living tied to energy bills.
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.
First of all, I am glad that this gas safety framework is to be put on a statutory basis. And it's all right that people who are trained and qualified are dealing and installing and maintaining that they know what they're doing for people, unsuspecting people who have a problem or who are installing something new, driven by gas in their homes, because they're dependent on these people and it's a dangerous, it's an explosive product and could leave many people hurt or injured or even worse, if it wasn't put together rightly. I suppose this bill took a long time to come before us here and we're all surely going to vote for it. But I suppose what we look forward to, Minister, is Shannon LNG, which has been in the backbone now since I came up here in 2016 and long before that. And there have been too many delays and we need to ensure that this is made available to the Irish people. We can't be just beholding to the one supply from the East all the time because we do need gas for to keep the country going and to keep energy going and to keep our electricity flowing. And also a suggestion that has been made to me many times in relation to the old Kinsale gas field that we should be using that facility there to store gas and buy it when it's cheaper rather than waiting until it gets expensive and until we have to buy it. And often we're paying the highest prices from the sources that we have, that we're using. We're paying the highest prices. We should be more, how to say, opted and ensure that we're not paying the maximum price all the time for it. And the other problem that I have, Minister, is in relation to the regulator. Are she there at all? Are she there? Or who is she? Or who is he? We don't seem to see any action or any come-heather put on the electricity companies who vary so much in the last 12 months in their price increases and along the increases. We need to do something about that, Minister, because many people feel and they believe that since the day we closed Bournemoune down in 2020, the cost of electricity goes up every other day. And that to me is so, so, so wrong and we don't hear our energy regulator or regulators or whoever they are, we don't ever hear them saying anything and it's poor people. And we know that the cost of living has gone through the roof in the last six months and just even exploding as we're talking here, there's no end to the price of things. And when energy costs so much, the cost of everything else goes up. And we see at the pumps again in recent times they've gone mad. And then there's the odd one. We see they kind of nearly maintain the same price all the time. We can't understand it. There must be a regulator that ensures that fair pay is given to the consumers and I don't think he's acting or that he's there at all. And I'm asking ministers, the blame goes back to the government because you're in charge of the regulator and he's supposed to be answerable to you. But I don't see or I can't see any answer or any, any, you know, I don't see him doing any work at all on behalf of the people that we're elected here for to represent. And I'm appealing in tonight here to see could something be done because the cost of living is tied to that. And when the cost of energy and when the cost of heating and when I think of poor people, people, I come across people on a daily basis who believe that they can't actually buy a bag of turf now or that they can't get a bag of turf or that they shouldn't have a fire. They feel guilty over it. Elderly people, they think they're doing harm and they're frozen in their homes. They can't afford anything. And we hear about all the underfloor heating and all these systems, the air to water and all that. They know that they're in their, how to say, in their elder years and that they don't have that much time. And they don't have the money to invest on these systems. And they feel it's not worth that while. Whereas, normally they would have turf and they would have timber and they'd have all those things. They're afraid to use those things because of all the talk of the last government that was driven by the Greens. And they did more harm than will ever be repaired. It will take too long to repair it for these elderly people. But the facts are, since Bournemouth closed down, the cost of electricity has gone up day by day. We must do something to ensure that the regulator steps in and ensures that there's fair pay being had by the people. And look, there's other fellows who want to talk here. I'll finish with that.
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.
