Minister Ryan has confirmed that he does indeed take shorter showers in a bid to cut down on energy costs.
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Eamon Ryan has defended some of the more eyebrow-raising energy-saving measures previously suggested by his Government.
In March, Minister Ryan
encouraged road users to slow down in order to save money on rising fuel prices. In April, the Minister suggested that people
take shorter showers and drive less often in a bid to curb energy costs. Later that month, Ryan reportedly urged the public to reduce gas and electricity usage
between 5pm and 7pm.
A new Government-approved public information campaign was recently launched, aiming to raise awareness regarding numerous actions that the average Irish citizen can take in order to save energy and the related costs thereof.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the aforementioned examples provoked a divisive reaction amongst the general public. Speaking on
The Tonight Show on Virgin Media One on Thursday night (5 May), Minister Ryan moved to explain the value of the measures.
Asked if he accepted that the proposal of shorter showers came across as "patronising and out of touch", he responded:
"If it did, I very much regret that because that's not the impression we want to create. But if we shied away and said nothing about efficiency and the benefits of doing that, or providing advice or providing information – we wouldn't be doing our job properly.
"Every country in Europe, including the European Commission, is doing the same thing. Because it is a crisis. There has never been a wartime situation like this in my lifetime. Energy is being used as a weapon in this war. The high prices are a result of what the Russian government is doing."
Put to him that Irish people understand the situation and are already making efforts to cut back on energy costs, Minister Ryan was then asked if he himself is taking shorter showers.
"Yes, but if we turn this into a kind of virtue-signalling thing where, 'Oh, I'm better than someone else' – that's not the way to win this argument, that's not the way to put people over; 'Oh, I'm so virtuous, I'm doing this, that and the other' – no," said Ryan.
"But I think a lot of people actually do want good information on the sort of measures that can be done, not on a 'I'm better than you' or 'You have to do this' or 'You have to do that' but just sharing some good advice. That's an absolutely valid, appropriate and right thing to be doing."
https://twitter.com/TonightVMTV/status/1522337484180443142
