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I don't think you can equate Varadkar's statement to cowardice but to Ryan's intransigence.

If the last government had proposed developing Barryroe over Ryan's head he would have pulled the Greens from the parliament and forced a general election and given how Sinn Fein were doing at the time we would now have a Sinn Fein led government.

Thank goodness Ryan et al are now for the dustbin and common sense can now once more prevail, given the makeup of the new government and may it will happen sooner, I hope, rather than later.

I believe Norway's high price for electricity is caused by the reduction in rainfall.

Norway generates a large amount of its electricity from hydroelectricity and it has had very little rainfall hence the reduction in water feeding its hydroelectric plants.

copy:

How does rainfall affect electricity production in Norway?

Given that hydroelectric power dominates Norway’s energy scene, the amount of rainfall the country receives directly impacts electricity production. Abundant rainfall usually corresponds to higher production and potentially lower prices, while dry periods can result in higher prices due to decreased production.

The Healy Rae brothers want a Junior Minister post as part of the deal in supporting Fine Fail and Fine Gael in next government.

Current hope is that a government can be formed before 22nd January when they all come back.

Barryroe is registered in Jersey under the aegis of Vevan, a company owned by the Goodman family.

Part of the deal was for the current shareholders to have a 5% interest for 10 years subject to development.

"The Proposals provide that the Investor will allocate to the other shareholders (as at 21st July), other than Vevan

Unlimited Company, 5% of any after-tax net profits realised by the Company from the Barryroe field, either

through its sale or operation at any time in the 10 year period after the Effective Date. Those other shareholders

shall not be required to commit additional funds to participate. Documentation giving effect to this element of

the Proposals will be prepared and distributed by the Investor to those other shareholders within 30 working

days of the Effective Date."

Obviously, the other shareholder is Lansdowne with its 20% equity which they have rumoured they are going to sue the Irish government for $100m.

With Ryan out of the way and it looks that Independents will be the third party in government the chances of Barryroe is ever more likely as Independents are mainly from farming communities and farmers want guaranteed electric supply for agricultural reasons such as milk production that there is every possibility that Barryroe will be developed.

Larry Goodman paid €6.35m for Barryroe. Ref.

Barryroe Offshore Energy (BOE) confirmed on Monday that its main shareholder, businessman Larry Goodman, has reached a rescue investment agreement with the oil explorer’s examiner, which would see the billionaire inject as much as €6.35 million of funding and take full control of the company.

If Barryroe comes off he will have bought it for a song and the beneficiaries will be his family as his sons are now the main runners of the business.

The latest Wiki entry for him also says:

"Goodman is also a major shareholder of Barryroe Offshore Energy (BOE) which is threatening to take legal action against the Irish state following the refusal of a permit for oil and gas exploration in Irish waters. [36]"

So we are not dead yet.

Unfortunately until new government formed Ryan is still Minister of Communications. Ministers stay in place until the new government is formed even if they have lost their seats.

So no good news until January, I expect, as the chances of a government being sworn in before then looks bleak.

If Ireland wants more data centres and the goodies they bring they have to increase their electricity supply and wind and sun is not going to do that. Also, farmers use a lot of electricity, oil and gas so the Independents, who have many farmers in their midst and who are actively supporting the farmers will want oil and indigenous oil as an LNG terminal is good but is also dependent on the vagaries of the Atlantic.

So Barryroe is a good insurance especially as Corrib grows less and less by the day and 2029 is not far away when it runs out.

By the way, the Healy-Rae brothers are farmers down in Kerry.

Headline says it all: Healy-Raes and Paul Gogarty join forces with Independent Ireland in Dáil technical grouping.

They need each other to guarantee that both can get Dail speaking time and as group they have now enough members along with Fine Fail and Fine Gael to form a stable government.

The only things to decide will be rotating or not Taoiseach and ministries.

Fine Fail 48 Sinn Fein 39 Fine Gael 38

Potential government Fine Fail, Fine Gael and Independent Ireland will give 90 seats. Enough to run the country and no Greens in sight.

There are a number of Independents who are not part of Independent Ireland who are ex-Fine Fail and will always vote with the government especially if they get goodies in return.

With those in tow I suspect Fine Gael and Fine Fail will go it alone if they exceed the quota even if it is only with one or two extras.

Looks like Fine Fail and Fine Gael can be a coalition without any other party as the prediction at this point is:

Fianna Fáil: 49 Fine Gael: 40 Sinn Féin 38:

Together they would have 89 which is well above the required quota to form the government.

Later News at 13:00pm

Headline: "Live Green Party 'has not had a good day' - O'Gorman"

Looking better all the time.

Watched the debate last night between Martin, McDonald and Harris.

Further to comments today which rated it a "draw" in my opinion Harris came across as a smart cookie.

Not one mention of the Greens even though McDonald tried to raise issues in last Dail that were exacerbated by the Greens.

Coalition of Fine Fail and Fine Gail looks a certainty as Martin stressed numerous times they would never go into coalition with Sinn Fein.

Roll on Friday and we will see where the mop flops.

Big turnaround in the poll.

Fine Gael lose 6 points after a meeting with a care worker last Friday.

Now it seems the pecking order is Fine Fail, Sinn Fein, Fine Gael.

Shows how unpredictable politics is. Hope he can recover by Friday and prove like Trump that the polls can be a whole load of tripe.

Under the Independent Ireland manifesto which can be read at https://www.independentireland.ie/environment and the section on Climate , Transport and Technology you can read the first point which says:

"Ensure a responsible and realistic energy mix that embraces new technologies and harnesses Ireland’s natural resources to allow a just and sustainable transition to new energy sources, while preserving existing ways of life; "

I would take from "harnesses Ireland's natural resources" that it refers to such items as Barryroe.

If I am right then we are possibly back in the game.

Interesting headline in today's Irish Times:

"Middle Ireland needs a new government. Independents might provide it."

It also says:

"The two larger parties have signalled a wish to govern without the Greens for a number of reasons. They sense that a renewed coalition with the Greens would be very unpopular in rural Ireland. "

An so say all of us!

If Fine Fail and Fine Gael do not have a majority to form the next Government the chances are they will make up the numbers with the Independent Ireland party which is mainly focused on the farming community.

This time the Independent Ireland party has 28 candidates running so, as a a party, you could expect they will get about 10 TDs given that most running were previously standalone Independents (i.e. not attached to any party),

On that basis you could expect, therefore, a Fine Gael, Fine Fail, Independent Ireland combination to form the next Government and given that Independent Ireland have already mentioned Barryroe as an asset you can expect it will be back on the agenda early next year which will also clear the path for what Lansdowne will want to do.

Only ten days to go and all will be revealed.

The election is on the 29th November and the new Dial will not meet until 18th December.

Given the time it took the last time to form a government it might be the new year before we have an election of the Taoiseach and the government so we are stuck with Ryan and his cronies in the Ministry of Energy and Communications until then.

Eamon Ryan says Michael O’Leary was ‘personally abusive’ after Ryanair boss called him an ‘idiot’ on RTÉ radio.

"Ryanair has repeatedly criticised the Green ministers for transport and tourism, Eamon Ryan and Catherine Martin, over what the airline sees as a lack of action on the Dublin Airport passenger cap.

“What is most important in this election is we weed out the Greens. We’ve learned after five minutes that the Greens are just weeds,” Mr O’Leary said.

“They poison enterprise. They’ve destroyed transport.”

Harris said he would ask Michael O'Higgins to dissolve Dail this Friday when he returns and has set the date for 29th November.

Goodbye Ryan and may your leprechauns go with you.