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

There is a Latin phrase, Primoris operor haud vulnero- I am sure the reporters will thank me for that - which is part of the hippocratic oath taken by doctors. It means "First, do no harm".

It could be applied to climate change as well as to health. When examining this Bill, we must recognise its potential for achieving the ambitions for a future world with much reduced carbon emissions. The key question is whether future generations on this island and throughout the world will be able to say that we, in this generation, have done all that we can to ensure we pass on a safe, clean, fruitful island and planet. The alternative is too bleak to permit.

Most of my submission is presented in terms of my brief, namely, communications, energy and natural resources, although not so much communications. Retrofitting of homes is an obvious means of not only reducing our dependence on energy sources but also tackling fuel poverty. Sinn Féin, in our 2014 pre-budget submission, put forward a proposal to establish a green bank in order that the State, along with the pensions industry, would invest in the retrofitting of homes. This would see a marked increase in the number of retrofitted homes. It would also generate stable returns, which would be higher than Government bonds, for the pensions industry and would support real and sustainable job creation throughout the country.

Sinn Féin is fully committed to the development of renewable energy in Ireland. The State is heavily reliant on imported fossil fuels to meet its energy demands. The Government has acted and is acting to develop a progressive renewable energy policy which not only complies with EU targets but which also ensures the State's energy security far into the future. However, there is a flaw in the strategy. The current model being pursued by the Government relies primarily on wind energy to meet targets. This is somewhat short-sighted. Wind on its own is not a secure form of energy. It should be developed as part of a wider renewable strategy which includes alternative sources, such as wave, tidal, hydro and biomass energy generation. Recently, WestWave, a wave energy project, was awarded funding by the European Commission. This project is led by the ESB, a semi-State company. This is a step, but only a step, in the right direction in terms of developing tidal and wave energy.

A 2011 report by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland forecast that an all-Ireland ocean energy sector could be worth about €9 billion and could generate approximately 525 TWh annually. Annual electricity usage is 26 TWh. This is the scale of what is possible in wave energy. Would the people of this land prefer ocean energy or would they prefer to see beautiful landscape destroyed and water possibly poisoned by hydraulic fracturing? I think the answer is clear.

Biomass and anaerobic digestion boiler technologies are improving all the time. We should consider and evaluate whether the Moneypoint coal-fired power station is an option to help meet our 2020 targets. Every policy and decision made by Government on energy has to be proofed against our targets to reduce carbon emissions, while ensuring that people are treated fairly. On a worldwide level, we cannot have people whose livelihoods are dependent on the rainforest penalised for doing the right thing. There have to be countermeasures. Similarly, our farmers and our country should not be penalised for what we do best, namely, producing the best food in the world. This has to be taken into account. However, our carbon reduction targets should be explicitly stated in time stages to enable us and the world to calculate whether we are moving in the right direction. Sometimes we can get legislation wrong, but the consequences in those cases are not too severe or they can be undone. However, if we get this wrong - the legislation or the enforcement - there will be no second chance.

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