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THE KNOCK-ON EFFECTS of the conflict in the Middle East has to be a “wake up call” for the EU on its dependency on fossil fuels, Tánaiste Simon Harris said.
The Finance Minister said there has been “not enough” diversification in how Ireland and Europe sources its energy since the war in Ukraine, something compounded by rising oil and fuel prices in Ireland over the past week.
Yesterday, Government ministers were told Ireland will fall short of its EU renewable energy targets up to 2030.
Speaking to reporters in Paris, the Tánaiste said he and Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers are examining how to accelerate delivery in terms of energy.
“It is extraordinarily ironic that regulation, rules around planning and everything else, can actually slow down something that can actually help deliver energy security, reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and also try and get cheaper energy for our citizens,” he said.
He said aside from the immediate and severe effects felt on the ground in the Middle East as a result of the war in Iran, from an economic point of view Ireland and the EU has been reminded of how dependent they are on fossil fuels from other parts of the world.
He said building up Ireland’s own energy independence in the medium term is the “real way” of addressing the energy shock currently felt and to safeguard against any future volatility from areas outside of the EU.
Ireland is “in the middle of” developing a Celtic interconnector between France and Ireland. It will be the first connection from Ireland into the European electricity grid and is expected to open in 2028.
Harris said he’d like to have a conversation with the French government about Ireland “being even more ambitious” and seeing if a second interconnector could also be developed.
On the high cost of petrol and diesel at the pumps in Ireland, the Tánaiste said the nature of the conflict in Iran remains volatile and can change at any moment.
Asked whether Government might follow the lead of other EU countries who have brought in short term measures to alleviate pressure on consumers at the pump – like Croatia, who have introduced a two-week price cap on diesel and gas, effective from today – Harris said current market indications are looking more positive.
After US President Donald Trump’s comments last night in which he said the war was “very complete, pretty much”, the oil and gas prices dropped.
“Most [EU] countries are on the position of trying to grapple with the economic impact of this and what is the best thing to do by their citizens,” he said. “Some countries have decided to go ahead and do short term measures.
“What I would say is the Irish government has never been found wanting in trying to respond to situations, but the best situation to be responding to is one that deescalates quickly.”
If the conflict continues and oil remains at high levels, “then we’re in a much more concerning economic situation”.
“This is taxpayers’ money,” he said. “And had any Government responded yesterday, they’d be dealing with a very different situation today.”
Government will decide what’s the best course of action after monitoring the situation for a number of days, he said.
“I also think there’s very peculiar anomalies where parts of Ireland, only a couple of kilometres apart from each other, the price could be X and the price could be Y.
“I mean that can’t be blamed on Iran. That can’t be blamed on any president of any country and I think that’s concerning,” he added.
Harris is in Paris today through Wednesday on one of the first ministerial trips to mark St Patrick’s Day, where he is meeting with the Secretary General of the OECD Mathias Cormann and attending a Tourism Ireland event.
Tomorrow he is to meet his French counterpart, Finance Minister Roland Lescure, and attend a business reception with state agencies at the Irish embassy in Paris.
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