Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish Mr. Griffin well in his new role, which is very challenging given what he has outlined. There is no doubt much work has gone into setting EU and national policy with regard to the roll-out of communications and energy infrastructure. The strategies have been put in place but the difficult part is implementation. We all agree this is where the main challenges will be, and we see this with EirGrid. We also need public acceptance for the energy infrastructure, and this will be ongoing.

With regard to the renewable energy targets which have been set, are we putting all our eggs in one basket and all our hopes on the wind energy sector or are we trying to develop other areas such as wave, tidal and hydro energy? I have mentioned that more than 150 years ago in my home town, 300 kW of power were generated from the local river Clodagh. Not 1 kW is generated from the river now. One must consider the opportunities and potential for small micro projects which would heighten public awareness and get community engagement in renewable energies. Some focus should be on this as well as on large economic investment projects such as wind energy projects. We should not give up on this area. Communities could get involved in other smaller projects. Is anything being done in this regard at departmental level to try to get buy-in through schools or communities?

With regard to energy efficiency in homes, smart metering was a buzzword a few years ago. Where is it now? For a very small investment a household could have a meter to indicate exact consumption at particular times. A pilot project was proposed a number of years ago. Is it intended to roll this out in communities to give people better understanding? No matter what policies are adopted at the highest levels, unless we have public engagement and public awareness we will find it very difficult to implement them across the board. Human behaviour must change, and this goes for the private and public sectors. I suspect much poor practice occurs with regard to building management and energy efficiency in the public sector. In many public buildings the heating may be on full blast and there may also be air conditioning trying to cool down the heating. Public buildings may have conflicting energy efficiency models. This is an area we can certainly work on and big savings are to be achieved not only to the public purse but also in reducing carbon emissions. I would like to hear Mr. Griffin's views on this.

I spoke to the Minister about broadband and the assets we have, such as metropolitan area networks and semi-State agencies such as EirGrid, which I understand has telecommunication fibre wrapped around its main transmission networks running throughout the country. I understand Iarnród Éireann also has telecommunication networks. How are EirGrid, Iarnród Éireann and the metropolitan area networks co-ordinated? What connects them to ensure we get the best value from this asset in order that we sweat it to the maximum potential? These are all semi-State or State agencies and we need a body or agency co-ordinating this to ensure we get the maximum benefit from existing assets.

I welcome planned investment and I mentioned the Aurora dark fibre network which we need in the south east if we are to be competitive. This needs to continue and I hope we get the capital resources to invest in it. In this respect I ask Mr. Griffin whether this specific investment must come from the public purse or whether public private partnerships are possible in the roll-out of this type of infrastructure.