"Green" policies are destroying this country

if we decided to ignore EU environmental legislation our goods and some services would end up levied with the border carbon adjustment tax. Even the threat of that would be the end of Ireland as a destination for FDI and eventually as a first world country.

Well seeing as it hasn't been enacted in actual regulations I'm not sure how you can be so certain about that. BCAM is specifically designed to stop EU and non EU companies skirting environment or decarbonization requirements. I don't see anything in it that means an entire member state can be held accountable under nevermind stopping FDI like you claimed.

It kind of depends on which member state is doing the ignoring. If it's France or Germany then it's all good. If little old Ireland tries to eek out even the smallest advantage we'll see a different approach. That doesn't change the fact that as it stands BCAM is about companies.

Typical of a green follower that eanna ni whatever is her last name on tv3 when confronted with facts by Michael Healy Rae she just sulks.

ah yes, the long predicted collapse of the European Union

I wouldn’t call that a case of ‘retaliatory’ so much as ‘f*coed around and found out’. Building a fleet of CCGT and refusing to require EUAs to be purchased for them would certainly be a case of the latter.

Ask any farmer attempting to either plant or fell forestry and they will tell you about zero action minister Hackett. Before Greens arrived in power the system was at least working.

Ask any Dublin city trader about all the shuttered businesses in the city centre and they will tell you about cars having no access and buses running sporadically. Another Green production.

Promising all and delivering sweet all.

They are like turkeys merrily gorging on their food a week before Christmas not realising their end is in sight, thankfully

There are very few empty retail inits in Dublin City Centre at the moment?

Buses could be a lot better though, true.

sell your car then, it will be tough but you and your fellow faithful can make the difference needed...

What are you, some kind of deranged fantasist? In just the last two posts you have accused me of:

• predicting a natural gas shortage in Ireland within 3 years
• advocating leaving the EU to avoid carbon pricing.

... neither of which appear in anything I wrote, either in fact or even remotely by implication. Perhaps ease off on leaping to unwarranted conclusions?

CCGT generation without CCS produces around 0.35 tCO2/MWh for which the cost of EUAs would have averaged around €25/MWh in the past year. At "normal" gas prices that's a margin that could easily be absorbed while still remaining competitive with wind generation. (And the cost of unreliable wind power has been going up and is certain to keep doing so).

While we are still generating power from coal, natural gas is a considerably better alternative from an emissions point of view. It's what made the USA the world's most successful emissions reducer through the shale fracking revolution. Instead, Ireland has so mismanaged its energy security that coal generation has to be kept beyond its planned closure date. That is thanks to government ineptitude, and latterly to Green policies.

In the medium term we should be going hell-for-leather after Allam cycle natural gas combustion with carbon sequestration. That would keep us in carbon credits for a long time, while avoiding our insane obsession with unreliable wind power which a) threatens to scupper the economy, b) is clearly not working to meet our emissions targets.

I am sorry, you said that we had to burn distillate oil because we didn’t have LNG or new offshore gas. Any normal person would conclude from that that you expect a gas shortage

All your ideas seem incompatible with Union membership. It reminds me of brexiters’ promises that GB would stay in the Single Market after leaving the EU.

When should we expect ‘normal’ gas prices again?

Does your idea still work if carbon allowances go to €300/tonne?

What EU or Paris targets for emissions from electricity do you claim Ireland has missed?

Lets hope greens figure out how to move on from lithium batteris as their targets for everything electric will go out of the window in a few years simply because there is not enough lithium. Seems like they really want everyone to start walking and cycling as cars will become so expensive only rich people will be able to afford them.

No, that's not what I said. Either stop misquoting me, or point to where I said that. Anyway, three strikes and now you're out. I can't engage with an argument that just keeps attributing statements to me that I didn't make.

Uh, what? Burning natural gas is incompatible with European Union membership? You might want to warn the other 26 members, every one of which does so. Oops, no, I tell a lie. Cyprus doesn't -- it gets 95% of its energy from oil instead.

Bizarre.

How about now? The Dutch TTF fell below €50/MWh a month ago. Do try to keep up.

Does your idea still work if wind energy goes to €300/MWh? That seems more likely.

It missed its 2020 emissions targets by a whopping 20%. It will miss its 2030 targets as well because we have no effective strategy for meeting them, thanks in part to the Greens.