Energy costs, security - An unwise dependency

Yesterday’s decision by the Energy Regulator to approve an 8.5% rise in residential gas prices for Bord Gáis customers from October means that the semi-state company’s prices have jumped by almost 30% in a year.

We have been warned for years that energy prices would only soar, and, as any motorist will confirm, those predictions are coming to pass.

We still import about 90% of our energy need and despite positive projections made around renewable energy sources we remain in a terribly vulnerable position.

Despite this threat it seems impossible to provoke a rational national debate on nuclear power. We still hope that a combination of renewables and conventional sources will provide us with the energy we need but, in reality, hope should have no place in a debate around issues as fundamental as this.