Michael Colreavy (Sligo-North Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I begin by thanking my colleagues, Deputies Stanley and Martin Ferris, Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, as Deputy Pearse Doherty mentioned, Councillor Matt Carthy, Mr. Simon Gillespie, our legal draftsman, and our own office staff because it was a true team effort in producing this piece of legislation.

I welcome the Government's decision not to oppose the Bill at this Stage and thank - I was going to say all - most of the Members who spoke during the debate. There were two exceptions, one tonight and one last night, and either they had not read the Bill at all or they decided to engage in the most negative intemperate and partially hysterical political point-scoring instead of engaging in debate.

Development of renewable energy should be a uniting, rather than a dividing, venture among Irish people and politicians. Most reasonable people will readily agree that it makes sense to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by maximising our use of renewable energy sources. Wind energy pylons, after all, do not poison water; hydraulic fracturing can. We have all witnessed the people's commendable opposition to proposals to erect thousands of wind turbines in the Irish midlands and we need to look at the reasons for that opposition. People felt it necessary to take this course of action because they are naturally worried when energy companies are buying and leasing land for their wind turbines although the planning application process has not been gone through. Naturally, people are worried.

I believe there are three main reasons for this mass opposition. First, there is no comprehensive national vision or strategy on renewable energy developments. In the absence of such a vision and strategy, people fear the energy companies are exploiting the vacuum in their own self-interest rather than the interest of the people of Ireland. The Minister, Deputy Rabbitte, indicated he will shortly publish a Green Paper on renewable energy. I welcome that announcement and hope it will be the first step in developing a strategy that will enjoy the support of the vast majority of people and of politicians.

The second reason is that the current planning guidelines are woefully inadequate in regulating wind energy projects, and do not require companies to address our domestic energy requirements before we consider exporting to other jurisdictions. Additionally, they hold no provision for specific benefits for Irish people in terms of job creation, energy pricing, financial dividend to the State, etc. We are all only too well aware of the risks inherent in giving almost uncontrolled power to private companies whose sole objective is to increase profits and dividends for shareholders. While profit-making is neither a crime nor a sin, our responsibility is to maximise the benefit for the State and its citizens.

Third, if we learned anything from the Corrib Oil debacle, it is that secrecy and behind-closed-doors project planning and implementation does not work. Host communities must be involved at all stages, from initial project analysis through project planning and delivery. Co-operation with communities will work far better than imposition.

This Bill attempts to address some of these shortcomings. I am sure the Bill can be improved on - it is not a perfect piece of legislation - as we progress it through the later Stages.

The memorandum of understanding that was signed between the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the British Government was designed to facilitate the export of renewable energy generated in Ireland to Britain for consumption there. Under an EU directive, each country has to consume a certain percentage of its energy each year from renewable sources. While the British Government was not keen on development the renewable energy infrastructure on its island in order to reach targets set out by the EU, the Irish midlands were deemed a suitable location to erect wind turbines. This plan was devised without the consent of communities in the midlands, or, indeed, in any part of Ireland. The memorandum of understanding was shelved recently, but murmurings from those in power indicate that there will be an attempt to get movement on it once again. People in the midlands and elsewhere are naturally concerned that their health, amenity and property values would be sacrificed so that we could become Britain's offshore wind farm.

Contrary to what many Government Members and one from the Fianna Fáil Party said, Sinn Féin is not opposed to exporting renewable energy to Britain or anywhere else but we must deal with the facts. Of indigenous energy produced in Ireland in 2012, renewable energy accounted for 58%, peat 24% and natural gas for 14%. However, of energy consumed in Ireland, 87.5% came from fossil fuels while only 11.4% came from renewable sources. This indicates that we are still very heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels for energy. The public is constantly being told that Ireland is in a unique position to develop renewable sources of energy. While this may be true, the fact that 87.5% of our energy still comes from imported fossil fuels shows that Ireland has a long way to go in developing renewable energy for ourselves.

Under EU directives, we must reach a target of 16% renewable energy consumption by 2020. We should have our own, more ambitious yet realistic targets. It has been indicated by Government that we are set to reach this goal but we are so heavily reliant on imported fossil fuel that the Government needs to develop renewable energy for Irish needs.

Concerns have also been raised with regards the reliance on wind as a single source of renewable energy. To highlight the volatility of wind energy, between 2011 and 2012 wind energy produced in Ireland fell 8.4% due to differences in wind speeds. Relying too heavily on a resource that can vary so much is worrying. Let us compare this with wave and tidal energy. Tidal generation has significant advantage over many other forms of renewable generation in that it is almost perfectly forecastable over long-term horizons.

Biomass is another alternative form of renewable energy that has yet to be explored to any great extent. Ireland is a nation with a strong agricultural sector. The proportion of renewable energy produced from biomass and waste is already below the EU average. In a recently published report, BW Energy identified Moneypoint power station as an ideal location for conversion into a biomass generation system. This discussion must form part of a wider debate on energy strategy. I welcome the fact that the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, will soon publish a Green Paper on energy and Sinn Féin will make submissions to it. We believe in an energy system that is all-Ireland, sustainable and one that serves the needs of the people of Ireland. Energy security is currently a hot topic at a European level and is only likely to become more so. There is no doubt that renewable energy will be play a significant role in guaranteeing Irish energy supply for years to come. However, it must be developed with proper strategy and planning regulations. It must have the consent of host communities and must not intrude on the lives of the people it purports to help. I ask the Government to ensure that any wind farm applications in process are put on hold until the overall vision and strategy is developed and this legislation is enacted. There is little point in enacting good legislation after the damage has been done. Let us remember the banks.

I welcome that the Government will not oppose this Bill passing to the next stage. I hope this legislation will form part of the wider debate on energy generation and use in Ireland. My party colleagues and I are willing to work with the Government to ensure that we have a progressive energy strategy and a vision of an Irish energy future that will enjoy the support of and will benefit the vast majority of Irish people. We can all be winners in this.

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