Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In my constituency, East Cork, there are plans for 11 wind turbines. I applaud the residents of that rural area who have run an effective and informative campaign. I attended their public meetings and was surprised at the level of support the campaign had received. I will continue to work with them until the matter is brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The blame for the fear and confusion in communities lies fairly and squarely at the door of the Government. While I welcome its commitment not to oppose the Bill, I sound a word of caution. This must not be a hollow election promise. The Minister, Deputy Pat Rabbitte's record on election promises leaves much to be desired. The Bill must be progressed as quickly as possible and part of an overall energy strategy. The Minister should make it an imperative to introduce a Green Paper on energy strategy. Unfortunately, the Government appears not to be interested in developing any such strategy.

In the memorandum of understanding signed by the Minister and the British Government in January 2013 it was agreed to export wind energy produced in Ireland to Britain. The memorandum collapsed in March 2014 because of the failure to reach economic agreement on the export of energy. It did not make economic or environmental sense to export renewable energy from Ireland when we relied so heavily on fossil fuel consumption. There are signs that the Government wants to re-engage with the British in an attempt to generate wind energy for export from Ireland. This gombeen politics smacks of banana republic economics. The goal of generating 16% of energy from renewable resources by 2020 will not be reached if the Government continues frantically to sell off energy generated by wind turbines. The Bill is a reasonable response to that challenge.

The Bill would prevent the Government from undermining local authority development plans under the Planning and Development Act 2006 which gives power to local government to zone specific areas for the erection of wind turbines. The Bill would strengthen local democracy and accountability. It would ensure any person applying for permission to construct a turbine or wind farm would have to provide information for local residents through placing an advertisement in a local newspaper and placing a sign on the proposed site. Any change that would be made to land or location would be made available to the public, with an Ordnance Survey map pointing to the locations of the turbines. The length of time the construction work would take would be made known to the public. An outline of any planning gain would have to be made available to the public.

Following the situation in Ukraine there has been much discussion at a European level about energy security in Europe. This issue is likely to develop further if relations between the West and Russia remain cold. There is significant worry in Europe about the possible loss of Russian gas. Sinn Féin has always argued for the development of renewable energy sources as an alternative to fossil fuels. However, there must be a varying amount of renewable energy sources. Ireland cannot rely on wind energy alone and to guarantee energy security, it must vary its renewable energy potential. Alternative sources must be explored to guarantee the security of supply into the future. The Government should adopt self-sustainability in energy production and consumption as a long-term goal in its energy strategy. The State is 87.5% reliant on fossil fuels for energy production, the vast majority of which is imported. This is costing consumers money as fossil fuel prices are determined by the whims of international markets. This results in fuel poverty being a problem in Ireland, with the country recording a significant number of excess winter deaths each year. The Bill would restrict the Government's export of renewable energy until Ireland's energy demands had been met. It is a solution-based, reasonable response to the challenges at local, national and international level.

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