Letter to the Editor: Ireland will never stand up for itself until it grows a backbone
(Editor Meath Chronicle)
Dear Sir - Like many people I cheered on the fuel protesters, and to a lesser extent the farmers, who are never happy – has there ever actually been a content farmer, even before they weren’t been given it all by the EU? I was disappointed but not surprised by how quickly the leaders of the protest folded, quicker than a blanket in a posh house! But no matter, they raised a number of important issues about Ireland’s energy needs, even if after all the disruption there will be no reduction for the ordinary, non-farming citizen.
Every man and his dog this side of the Dáil knows that the government chooses not to be self-sufficient. These fuel facts prove this:
- We have roughly 300 million barrels of oil buried in the Barryroe field off Cork, and enough gas deposits at Kinsale Head and the Corrib gas fields to power Ireland’s Super Sers for generations to come. Dig it up, the fines will be less than the market value. New jobs too.
- We have world renowned expertise in mining – Tara Mine is the biggest zinc mine in Europe and the miners were so good they were able to also mine lead out of it. Just use this expertise to mine the untapped hydrogen buried deep under our feet. A no brainer.
- Start building wind turbines as Ireland is a very windy place. They are everywhere else in Europe and they don’t seem to be wiping out all the birds, killing sheep and fish or giving everyone cancers to beat the band. Though farmers probably would protest the wind given a chance.
Moreover, Ireland proved that it can sustain itself. During the Emergency, we grew all our own food and meat on farms and in gardens. Nobody went hungry and nobody was vegan. We fished our lakes, keeping our brave fishermen safe from the U-boats. We are an innovative nation, from inventing the submarine (ironical given they Germans then used them against us, and others) to the Stripe Brothers. Each crisis presents an opportunity. Let this latest crisis bear positive fruits!
Time to waken up.
Yours
Stephen J Mullen
Drogheda
Co Meath