Taoiseach Micheál Martin has warned that high prices for petrol, oil and gas are likely into the future as he welcomed the latest round of European Union sanctions on Russia.
“We are at a watershed moment in terms of Europe’s dependency on fossil fuels,” Mr Martin said in Brussels this morning. “It will make for fairly rocky territory in the years ahead in terms of pricing around fossil fuels. We cannot get away from that.”
EU leaders reached a breakthrough late on Monday night to sanction Russian oil by exempting pipeline deliveries in a deal leaders said would bar two-thirds of imports and hit Moscow’s financial ability to wage war in Ukraine.
Asked if high prices for oil and gas were here to stay, Mr Martin said: “One is looking at a different era now in pricing for fossil fuels.”
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He welcomed the latest round of sanctions saying that it would “hit Russia” but conceded that it would inevitably mean high prices continuing for consumers.
[ EU reaches deal on ban of most Russian oil importsOpens in new window ]
He said that EU leaders had discussed the “need to double down on renewables” in response.
He said there was a “need to get offshore wind projects in place much sooner than would have been the anticipated timeline for wind energy projects.”
“We’re going to work very hard to create alternative forms on energy… We’ve done well in Ireland in terms of electricity on renewables, we’ve got to move much faster now,” he said.
“It will be challenging, there’s no point in saying anything else.”
He said any further help for consumers would not come from the Government until the budget, but said that “exploratory talks with unions” could lead to agreement on a “strategic” approach to improving public services, housing, childcare and health without further fuelling inflation.
Mr Martin did not rule out a windfall tax on energy companies, though he noted that the situation in Ireland was somewhat different from the UK, where a tax was recently announced.
“We will assess that in the round and what makes sense overall in terms of a sustainable market in Ireland. We import a lot of fossil fuels, we’re not exactly master of our own destiny in that regard. I think the most important thing we can do as a country is to double down on renewables and really get moving on the timelines on offshore wind. That’s the big game changer for Ireland in the next decade. No doubt about that.”
Mr Martin was speaking to reporters as he entered the EU council venue for the second day of the summit of EU leaders. Following agreement on the sanctions package late last night, EU leaders will discuss defence and food security this morning.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that part of Putin’s strategy was to create an energy crisis and also then to create a food crisis,” Mr Martin said.
“We are facing into very challenging times in terms of food security and famine across the Middle East and Africa,” he warned, saying there was a prospect of a “very significant humanitarian crisis” in the months ahead.
