EU facing 'second big wake up call' on energy, Irish Minister Darragh O'Brien says As Europe struggles to contain the fallout from the Middle East crisis, Ireland's Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment Darragh O'Brien has sounded the alarm on what he calls the EU's "second big wake up call.
" The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has exposed a critical vulnerability in Europe's energy dependence: not just supply, but price.
Ireland's fossil fuel reserves are robust enough to withstand the current crisis, but O'Brien is right to warn that direct subsidies for low income families can only provide short term relief.