"Green" policies are destroying this country

We need to be careful making these types of claims though. You could absolutely say it is something we should look to do but over a longer time period. Let's look at the health claims, everyone agrees cleaner air and water is a good thing.

However, when we start to impact people's energy usage, mainly through ever increasing prices, then we see negative health impacts. The cold kills more people in our northern climates than any increase in temperature. Fuel poverty means elderly people resort to using less heating, making them more susceptible to illness and death, not a good thing.

More expensive energy leads to a reduction in economic growth and a lowering of the standard of living, not a good thing. This in turn leads to less money in the economy to pay for the health service, causing a ripple effect and leading to worse outcomes for patients and an increased mortality rate.

For me, the argument that we would be all better off with cleaner air misses a myriad of completely foreseeable consequences of going after such an aggressive NetZero policy.

We need a mix of gas, renewables, nuclear, to meet our energy needs for at least the next 30 years or until we see a massive leap in technology, like fusion, to meet our needs. Even then the transition would take decades.

What, by telling all the data centres they need to prepare to burn diesel to keep the lights on? Because the State couldn't persuade anyone to bid for gas-fired generation because they have made the market so unattractive?

Firstly, having diesel plants on standby does no harm whatsoever to anybody’s health.

Second, the lack of gas capacity is the result of a botched auction. There were numerous under bidders in this auction. It was nothing to do with government policy other than that there wasn’t strong enough leadership on the auctions process.

Coal is still considered far worse. The nuclear waste produced is negligible compared to the carbon emissions of burning coal which is what they are doing now.

This is end result of rushed climate policies which has made the situation worse, it increased reliance on Russian gas which lead to high gas prices due to the war then further energy shortages from shutting down nuclear power plants. They also increased prices for neighbouring countries as they competed with them for gas contracts.

Ryan's underlings say that LNG imports would be a slap in the face. What's actually going on here is that reality is slapping Eamon Ryan in the face.

Ryan must think we have very short memories. Didn't he actually argue last year that Ireland wasn't dependent on Russian gas so we would have no problem? Don't any of these goons realise that availability can have impacts across multiple markets? It didn't matter if Russian molecules weren't actually being burned in Irish generating plants.

Germany is going hell for leather building LNG terminals. The numbers are staggering. They've added over 12 million tonnes / year of imports at three terminals completed since Nord Stream went away. Another three will come on line this year. By 2030 they plan 71 million tonnes of imports -- about 3.5 trillion standard cubic foot per year, or the equivalent of 3.5 entire Corrib fields emptied each year. Germany will become the world's fourth biggest LNG importer in the world. They can out-compete other countries for LNG supplies which has already been pushing up prices elsewhere, crippling some poorer economies. The six operational nukes that Germany has shut down could have saved 14% of their current gas consumption. This insane and evil Green ideology is directly punishing poor people around the world -- don't forget to ask them about that when they blather on about a "just" transition and lie to you that they're trying to save the world.

However, the ideological purists understand nothing except ideological purity:

The rationale put forward is moronic:

The Greens scoffed at the (admittedly weak) suggestion that Moffat might be insecure when it suited them. But now a flotilla of individual LNG ships is insecure? But the more deluded point is that we would "lock in gas use". We ARE locked into gas use. Our wind strategy depends on it. Even if we meet wind targets for 2030 it will be accompanied by 2 GW of additional gas-fired power. The only thing they have right is that LNG production, transportation and regasification has a massively higher carbon intensity than indigenous production -- production at Inishkea were it allowed to go ahead would be 50 times less carbon intense, and multiple times less intense even than North Sea gas imported via Moffat.

The Greens are clueless ideologues. The answer is "no LNG terminals" before they consider the consequences or alternatives. It's truly scary that we are hostage to these policies. Another example of their total lack of grip on reality:

We would be assisting the United States??? 🤣🤣🤣They would be saving our asses. Do these goons have any idea of the struggles going on in the US to maintain NG output? Biden admin policies are starving the industry of funding, leases, and insurance availability. Energy companies are eyeing future policies and deciding to return funds to shareholders instead of making the necessary investments. And then the Greens complain about excessive profits -- which they are causing!

None of this is going to end well unless we manage to dislodge this cult. Right now that seems pretty unlikely. Maybe after we endure many years of recession and people finally manage to join the dots.

Great point, I like it. And what's the point in having you in government when most of what you said to get there was a lie?

Better as a percentage but their consumption by population dwarfs us. Solar and wind energy is weather dependent so they still need something to bridge the gap. If you start looking at batteries that has an environmental impact too. It could be more detrimental to the environment if the recycling is not effective. There was research in the US found that most solar panels were not recycled and dumped in a landfill when they were removed.

If you want to do something for the environment then just don’t fly. It’s the single biggest polluter and is excluded from countries emissions.

Outside of the fact that there is no gasline interconnector between here and Germany, and even if there was why would Germany build even more LNG terminals than they currently are for their own requirements just to supply us with gas ?

Are the German`s importing some super-duper LNG that would not be a problem for Irish greens, or is it these interconnectors that are super-duper where, as far as Irish greens are concerned, they magically transform what goes in at one end to what comes out at the other end?

Far as they are concerned that appears to be what they believe the electricity extension line between here and Britain does and the one being laid between here and France will do for nuclear generated electricity.

You know full well what I mean, happy to have gas terminals in other countries just as long as they aren't here.

To add to the previous post with a picture

In other words, out of 58,088 cars sold so far this year, 48,791 of them have an ICE. Or 83.99% of cars sold this year include an ICE. It's a start, and it's a good move as many many people should have a BEV, but these headlines are total bull

That George Lee article may as well be a propaganda piece for the government and electric vehicle sales industry. No critical thinking or points, misleading headline, weird language 'upper mid €20,000s' making out they're cheaper than they are and then a used car sales man telling us how good secondhand ev's are. Typically of RTE pushing the governments agenda.

Why do we always have to rely on others, why not explore options of standing on our own 2 feet, because at the end of the day, isn't that what having energy security should really be about.

A few problems there. The most obvious being that without a LNG terminal two or three LNG tanker loads could not be even pumped ashore here.

Secondly what would be the difference in LNG from Germany, or indeed the U.K. that would be more acceptable to Irish greens than the common or garden variety they are so opposed too ?

Thirdly we are presently in non-compliance with E.U. directives on energy security. Gas pumped from Germany through the U.K all the way to Moffat in Scotland, with the U.K. no longer a member of the E.U. would do sweet f a towards changing that.

But in the real world all of those points are moot. Germany are not building LNG terminals to beat the band to supply anyone with gas other than themselves. And neither is the U.K. Germany in 2021 generated over 13% of its electricity using nuclear. They closed 3 plants at the end of 2021 resulting in that figure dropping to 6% for 2022, and now that 6% is also gone wth them shutting their remaining plants. Germany is also strip mining coal, basically burning anything they can get their hands on, and buying coal from that environment friendly 69,000 ha Cerrejon strip mine that guzzles its way through between 27 -35 million litres of water a day.

Somehow I doubt Germany is going to give much thought to Ireland`s energy needs in light of their own foolishness over Putin`s gas that has left them where they presently are. Or indeed the creation of another hole in their supply needs by cutting their nuclear generation. Even the sainted Greta of the greens thinks they lost the plot with that one.

Thank you for the list of mostly irrelevant but vaguely interesting facts.

You should really ask the Green Party for a statement on some of your questions.

it is very interesting they you say we are not compliant Re gas storage. What part of the regulation are we not compliant with?

The UK and the EU will have acres of spare LNG capacity by winter 2026. The storage is all pretty well topped up. They will allow us to use their terminals just to keep it busy and profitable, if we can find gas and tankers. The idea that the UK is going to cut off Northern Ireland’s gas is pure paranoia.

Why are you so anxious about developing infrastructure that we will hardly use, don’t really need and yet will have to pay for? A new gas terminal will add hundreds of euros to consumers’ bills.