Paul Hosford: War in Ukraine gives impetus to accelerate production of renewable energy
Civilians trapped in Mariupol City under Russian attacks, are evacuated in groups under the control of pro-Russian separatists, through other cities, in Mariupol, Ukraine on Sunday. Picture: Getty
"And the incident at Chernobyl proves
The world we live in is very small"
The words of English singer/ songwriter Billy Bragg may be 36 years old and may have been in a song which took a sideways glance at western attitudes towards developing nations, but in light of the last month, they feel timely.
When in the earliest days of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, its forces entered the exclusion zone around the nuclear power plant, home of the 1986 disaster, reportedly kicking up dust which was irradiated, sparking fears by monitors that nuclear activity at the site had picked up.
The war in Ukraine is a reminder that the world has become much smaller in recent decades. Since the explosion at Chernobyl, Ukraine has become much closer to Ireland, in many cases just a €12.99 flight away, and the arrival to our shores of thousands of refugees from the conflict is a reminder of that fact.
However, it is also a reminder of our place in the world as a nation. Despite the need in some corners to make this invasion about us, the truth is that Ireland is largely a bystander to a world event on this scale.
We can offer assistance, we can help with the aftermath, but questions on Irish attitudes towards either Russia or Ukraine are moot at this time. The only person who could have avoided the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the shelling of hospitals and the indiscriminate killing of children is Vladimir Putin.
However, that is not to say that this crisis does not pose serious, existential questions about our place in the world as it changes and shifts.
The defence questions will be teased out in the coming years as the EU reckons with having a hostile nation on its borders. In Ireland, we will be asked to decide what level of involvement we want with a pan-European defence system.
The Taoiseach has suggested a Citizens' Assembly on the matter and, in many ways, this is the perfect forum for such a discussion. Ireland's neutrality is an ill-defined thing and a wider civic discussion at a time when the continent is not facing a humanitarian crisis seems like a prudent, rational idea.
More pressing, however, is what the crisis says about Ireland's global position in energy.
According to an SEAI report for 2020, Ireland’s import dependency was 67% in 2018, down from an average of 89% between 2001 and 2015.
"This improvement was mostly due to the beginning of production of gas from the Corrib field and increasing use of indigenous renewable energy. Despite this improvement, Ireland is still one of the most import-dependent countries in the EU."
That dependency forces Ireland to not only pay for fuels that are bad for the environment, but it also throws up questions about our tacit funding of authoritarian regimes and forces us to dance on the head of a pin to justify the same.
In London last week, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe was asked by this writer if Ireland could continue to justify importing fuel from countries such as Saudi Arabia — which executed 81 people last weekend and is engaged in a long war in Yemen — while Russia is under sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine.
"We have to keep on making the case for human rights. We have to keep on condemning the horrendous executions that took place in Saudi Arabia," he said.
"At the same time, we need to radically accelerate our energy independence in Ireland and in Europe. You know, when we're in a position that we have to source our energy from other parts of the world, we are now learning what can be the real price of that. And that is why it's so critical for me that we have to accelerate where we are now with offshore wind.
"We have to accelerate the journey towards more green energy in Europe, so that when we are getting our energy in the future, we're not paying a price for that that's more than just money."
And this is a question which goes beyond Ireland as the EU weighs up its role in funding Russia's war efforts through the import of Russian gas.
"I don't need to go deep into our dependency on fossil fuels, and how many billions every year we pay to Russian war chest," EU environment commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius told a news conference in Brussels last week.
"The less dependent we are, the better for us."
With that in mind, it was good timing with which Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Eamon Ryan announced the commencement of the Maritime Area Consent Regime yesterday.
The new regime aims to speed up the planning processes for offshore wind energy. Ireland’s maritime area is seven times the size of its landmass and anyone who has ever stood on an Atlantic coastline will tell you that is more than ideal conditions for wind energy production.
That we have lagged so badly in this area in recent decades (we produce 25MW of energy offshore compared to the UK's over 12,200MW) can only be forgiven if the Maritime Area Consent regime is successful.
With the Government's aim of 70% of electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2030, they will be needed quickly as that figure was at just 16% last year.
That Ireland is not nearly energy self-sufficient is not surprising, not many countries are and some of those do so using nuclear power, which governments here are have been largely averse to.
However, having endured a winter of warnings that lights could go off because of a lack of supply and now facing questions of where our import money goes, Ireland is overdue an acceleration of domestically-produced renewable energy.
Cabinet will meet to discuss what is being described as an "all-hands" memo on the Irish response to the Ukrainian humanitarian crisis. The memo is expected to encompass most government departments and will set out how Ireland plans to cater for tens of thousands of Ukrainians arriving into the country.
In the Oireachtas, Leaders' Questions will take place in the absence of the Taoiseach, who remains in Washington DC, isolating due to Covid-19. The Dáil will tomorrow evening debate a Sinn Féin motion on rising energy costs.
In committees, the Housing Committee will hear from the Housing Agency and the Housing Finance Agency will discuss funding of the social housing sector; the Children's committee will hear from Ombudsman Niall Muldoon on his "Unmet Needs" report; and charities will discuss the situation in Ukraine with the Foreign Affairs Committee.
On Wednesday, the Enterprise, Trade and Employment Committee will discuss pricing practices at fuel pumps with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission. The watchdog has said that it is powerless to make fuel companies pass on the excise duty cut announced by the Government, but expect TDs and senators to be strident in their questioning.
In the Dáil, the Social Democrats will bring forward their bill on banning the practice of offering rent in exchange for sex. The party's housing spokesman Cian O'Callaghan drew up the bill in response to reporting on the issue by the Ann Murphy.
Covid-dependent, the Taoiseach is due to travel to Brussels on Thursday for a European Council meeting which will be attended by US president Joe Biden. With rules stating that only heads of state or government can attend, Micheál Martin may not be able to send a proxy if he is still Covid-positive, though Finance Minister Pashcal Donohoe will be there in his capacity as Eurogroup president.
At home on Thursday, Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys will be before the joint Committee on Disability Matters to discuss the provision of social protection for those with disabilities who wish to live alone.
61 people died in Ireland’s worst-ever air disaster off Tuskar Rock, Co Wexford. The following day a report on the front page of the said Aer Lingus had confirmed that "little hope could be entertained of finding any survivors from the worst tragedy in the history of its operations when a Cork-London Viscount aircraft with 61 people, including two babes in arms, plunged into the sea off Stumble Head, near Fishguard, Wales, just before noon."
Tourism minister John O’Donoghue launches the 'Value Menu Restaurant Guide' to offer meals at three price points: €15, €25 and €35. However, the scheme did not make the front pages as just days before, US president George Bush had launched project 'Shock and Awe' on Iraq.
Garda commissioner Martin Callinan resigned after months of controversy and a now-famous appearance before the Public Accounts Committee during which he described whistleblowers, Maurice McCabe and John Wilson as “disgusting”.
HSE chief Paul Reid said that he "could not defend" a situation where 20 'leftover' doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine were given to teachers and staff at St Gerard’s Catholic School in Bray, Co Wicklow, — a fee-paying school attended by children of the CEO of the Beacon Hospital.
Did you know?
Children's toys were among the items found during the renovation of Leinster House. The 270-year-old building underwent a €17m restoration project between 2017 and 2019 after structural issues were discovered in its roof. During the rebuild, workers found children’s toys, tickets and sea shells. The toys included a spinning top, a solid wooden ball and a toy soldier. The building has been used as the home of the Dáil and Seanad since 1922 with the artefacts dating from its time as the townhome of the dukes of Leinster.
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