Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Vice Chairman, I have been here from the beginning and other speakers were given ample time. I ask that he bear with me a little longer. My point is that we need new thinking on this issue, and education has a role in that. We must have more engagement in primary schools, such as the green flag initiatives, to teach pupils about the environment, the importance of conserving water and that rubbish thrown on the ground does not simply disappear. It is about teaching the next generation to be responsible citizens. Oil and gas are finite resources. We do not have any of the former in this country and the latter is causing a great deal of trouble. We must think responsibly as citizens, with a view to moving our eggs out of the basket they have been in thus far.
It will always cost more to do that. Renewables are a more expensive endeavour because our lifestyles are based around fossil fuels. We have been discussing when it should be done and how soon is too soon. The bottom line is that there is no good time to move towards something more expensive, but we have to take the long view. An issue we need to address in this regard is the disconnect between the massive plans being brought forward, whether in regard to pylons, wind farms or anything else, and people's perception of the benefits or otherwise of these projects. The policy documents the Government produces make wonderful reading with their talk of targets, indigenous resources and so on. I accept we have to deal with the practicalities of engineering etc., but there is a gap between what is being proposed and people's understanding of the potential benefits for the country as a whole into the future.
As I said, the largest wind farm project in the country is based in my area. The energy it generates will not be for export but will instead contribute to the 650 MW we are putting into the system under the Gate 3 programme to bring us up to our 2020 targets. Bord na Móna has a history in Mayo. Its peat-fired power station has been dismantled and a wind farm will come on stream once there is some upgrading of the transmission lines. People in the area are open to this type of project because we have a tradition of energy projects. Bord na Móna and the ESB are undertaking this project as a joint venture but they are not doing themselves any favours by the manner in which they are proceeding. We have heard fine talk today about community gain and the delegates have invited us to visit one of their projects. However, what I mean when I talk about community gain is actual on-the-ground benefits for people in the form of local employment in both the construction and operational phases.
Mayo County Council has a very advanced renewable energy strategy, including wind energy, which takes into account all potential benefits in a type of blueprint that can be modified. The council has set out a tangible community gain, for example, of €2,000 per megawatt of wind installed. Bord na Móna and ESB will not go even to that amount, notwithstanding the fact that the land they are operating came from local farmers by way of compulsory purchase orders. What the witnesses from Bord na Móna are describing does not match what I am hearing at public meetings in regard to their company's engagement with people in respect of community gain. There must be a recalibration of approach. As public representatives, we must listen to people and show better leadership. That leadership should focus on a recalibration of our engagement with the issues to put communities at the heart of the process. The companies involved in these projects cannot treat communities as an afterthought or present a package and simply say how great it is. People are much more discerning than that.
I have put forward a proposal in regard to the project in Mayo which I have checked with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. Bord na Móna, as a public company, has to follow certain rules on tendering which, on the face of it, seem to preclude it from prioritising local workers for the construction phase of its business. However, it is entitled to apply for a derogation from the Commission for Energy Regulation which would allow it to do so. Many young families in my area are struggling. The power station is closed. For those with small farms, their only off-farm income is in construction. These people are looking at outside workers being brought in by Bord na Móna to build roads and so on. Where is the local employment gain in that?
Bord na Móna is effectively a pioneer in terms of influencing public attitudes to these types of projects and persuading people to accept new types of infrastructure. The company must get it right instead of focusing on divvying up so-called packages. However, it is not even going with what the county council has suggested. There has to be a great deal more dialogue in respect of this project. Fair play to the local people who are willing to go with this, because they will be at a disadvantage in certain respects. There must be a trade-off of for them in terms of community gain and not just buttons. We need a serious debate on this.
A suggestion I have made - one of the witnesses referred to something along the same lines - is that people immediately impacted by infrastructure should get reduced cost electricity or something to that effect. Communities must be offered a stake in the generating capacity. An issue of concern in this regard is the transparency, or lack thereof, regarding the disclosure of generating capacity. I understand Bord na Móna carries out measurements on site before it proceeds in order to ensure a project is bankable. To what extent are those data being disclosed? There is mistrust among communities that people are not being upfront with them. We hear all this talk about commercially sensitive information, but Bord na Móna is a State company and, as such, has an even greater responsibility in this regard. In the first instance, however, the onus is on the Government to provide a statutory framework which incorporates the community gain element. As it stands, it is all very ad hocand not at all transparent in terms of how moneys are being administered. I know of private companies which are offering more than Bord na Móna is offering in my neck of the woods. If that type of debate and engagement can be accommodated, perhaps there will be greater positivity about energy projects.