Mattie McGrath: Government Energy Policy Called 'National Sabotage'
Mattie McGrath addresses the Dail on the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill 2026, arguing the Bill cannot be viewed in isolation and urging action on structural drivers of rising electricity costs. He warns Ireland's dependence on imported gas and policy choices have tied households to volatile global prices.
Mattie McGrath sets out why the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill 2026 must be accompanied by wider reforms. He stresses that almost half of an average electricity bill is driven by energy costs and that natural gas generates roughly half of the island's electricity while 70% of that gas is imported.
McGrath recalls a 2022 private member's bill he co-sponsored calling for oil and gas exploration off the Irish coast to strengthen energy security. He criticises government actions at the time, calling the decision to block infrastructure "like vandalism and national sabotage."
He also attacks the pricing advantages enjoyed by large data centres compared with rural households, arguing those arrangements worsen grid strain. McGrath highlights recent outages and amber warnings as evidence the grid is under pressure and questions planning choices that limit domestic fuel production.
The speech frames higher electricity costs as a structural problem with long-term consequences for families and businesses across Ireland. McGrath calls for joined-up measures to reduce dependency on imported energy and deliver lasting reductions in bills for consumers and companies alike.
Policy focus and urgency
Mattie McGrath sets out why the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill 2026 must be accompanied by wider reforms. He stresses that almost half of an average electricity bill is driven by energy costs and that natural gas generates roughly half of the island's electricity while 70% of that gas is imported.
Energy security and past proposals
McGrath recalls a 2022 private member's bill he co-sponsored calling for oil and gas exploration off the Irish coast to strengthen energy security. He criticises government actions at the time, calling the decision to block infrastructure "like vandalism and national sabotage."
Critique of priorities and infrastructure
He also attacks the pricing advantages enjoyed by large data centres compared with rural households, arguing those arrangements worsen grid strain. McGrath highlights recent outages and amber warnings as evidence the grid is under pressure and questions planning choices that limit domestic fuel production.
Consequences for households and business
The speech frames higher electricity costs as a structural problem with long-term consequences for families and businesses across Ireland. McGrath calls for joined-up measures to reduce dependency on imported energy and deliver lasting reductions in bills for consumers and companies alike.
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Transcript
Go raibh maith agat, Cathaoirleach agus, I'm delighted to be able to speak in this opening tonight and to say that I believe it's very timely and I want to be supported. The Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill 2026 cannot be viewed in isolation. If we are serious about reducing electricity costs, we must address the core structural issues that continue to drive prices upwards. Only by attacking these areas together can we deliver lasting reductions in electricity costs for households and businesses across the country. As I said, reduce Ireland's dependency on imported energy. Almost 50% of the average electricity bill is driven by energy costs. Natural gas generates roughly half of the island's electricity, but 70% of the gas is imported, meaning Irish consumers are tied to global price. Swings must also be there, so we should have different options. The dependence has had a direct and severe impact on electricity prices and dependence on gas. Gas prices today remain more than three times higher than before the Russian invasion of Ukraine. These elevated prices have fed straight into higher electricity costs for households. In 2022, in the rule of independence time, I and other colleagues introduced a private member's bill, calling on the government to allow oil and gas exploration off the Irish coast at Barrier Row, with the aim of strengthening Ireland's energy security and reducing reliance on volatile international oils. The government, at Eamon Ryan's behest, supported it. Minister Ryan wanted, at the time, I don't know if it ever happened, I hope it didn't, I called it a national sabotage. He wanted to fill the pipe with ready-made concrete, concrete scarce enough and dear enough to block the pipe to make sure it could never be used. I don't know if that ever happened, but if it did, it was like vandalism and national sabotage. And now we are here, and we had people at that time, you were afraid to be seen talking to them. International companies that were going to bring in the oil, and at their own risk, and produce it here, and have it for ourselves. But no, it's a taboo. We couldn't be seen talking to them. We had to have records of our meetings and everything else, because we had to be too PC. That's what's wrong here. We've allowed big business, really, here to dictate. It's a holy terror that the data centres are getting, are paying less for the ESP than the householders in Tadmell, Carrick, Insure, Kale, Kessel, Tipperary Town, and all the rural areas. It's a holy terror. And we have a government that will allow that, and continue to allow that, and allow them to continue expanding data centres. When our grid is on flashing points, amber lights, warnings, outages recently in Neenah, outages, no explanation for it. We're on a tinder hook, and of course we stop our turf and brickheads, and we're importing them. That's what we have.