Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and Mr. Spratt for coming in this afternoon.

I welcome the fact the Minister mentioned that there has been a cost-benefit analysis completed and I wonder where can we obtain that. Is it easily accessible on the Department's website or is it on some other website, such as that of Sustainable Energy Ireland?

There are communities in Offaly where it looks like the bulk of this project would be located who are concerned about the spectre or 600 ft. turbines in every second field across the midlands because that is the impression that they are under. They feel strongly that they have not been adequately informed about what is happening. In that context, I wondered whether the Department is compliant with the terms of the Aarhus Convention to which they all refer.

If the agreement on the energy for export proposal is ironed out, what would be the timeframe in respect of the development and subsequent execution of the proposal?

The Minister should indicate whether a new interconnector will be going ahead, because I seem to recall one energy company advising that a new interconnector would be required between Ireland and Wales. In addition, is there another proposal for an interconnector between Ireland and France, for example, to avoid being completely reliant on exporting to Great Britain and to enable exports to other countries? Is such a proposal in the pipeline?

I refer to Ireland's capacity for energy independence, while acknowledging this meeting is focused on the export of energy to the United Kingdom. To what extent does Ireland have energy independence, in terms of the capacity to keep the lights on at any given time? Does Ireland have a problem in respect of being independent? First, what is the capacity and second, will the Government be considering flexible plants to support such independence or is this a matter the company exporting the energy must also consider? As someone has noted, if the wind is not blowing here, it will be blowing someplace else. However, in the event of the wind not blowing here, people have concerns that fossil fuels still will be required to back it up. This point is being raised quite a lot.

I would be very interested to hear about community gain, as I frequently hear complaints about how it might be construed as bribery. However, has the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources considered measures such as, for example, an investment bond? Under such a scheme, citizens or communities could buy into particular proposals, be they for the energy export proposal or for the national grid. This proposal has been raised with me to an extent, certainly as it applies to citizens, because some people believe community gain may only be of benefit to one if one is interested in a particular community project that may gain therefrom. It does not necessarily mean that an individual who is obliged to sit beside a 600 ft. high structure will get anything out of it. Perhaps one even might examine the potential for people to have free electricity. Is that a possibility the Department might consider?

In addition, I have received many complaints from people about how option agreements are being acquired in areas that are not designated at all for wind and are outside county development plans. Is there a role for the Minister in dealing with such activity or is such speculation simply allowable because we are capitalists here? The Minister also should confirm when the Green Paper on energy will be produced.