Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming before us. I am sorry that I had to duck out for parliamentary questions during his speech but I read what I could of it in the meantime.
I concur with my colleague in the pointers he raised on costs here. For instance, over the past number of years a great deal of criticism has been levelled at the German Chancellor as living in an unreal world and dispensing hardship on the rest of us when, in fact, the GDPper capitain Germany is lower than it is in this country. Not all the criticism we level from time to time is as soundly based as it should be.
It is an important time. Post the bailout, it is most important we recognise that we must fly on our own, but with due deference to the guidelines already laid down, the targets already set and agreed to, and the extent to which we are prepared to do that on our own. Bonar Law famously stated that Ireland was ungovernable and incapable of governing itself, and we will see that now because it is easy to opt out when it appears that the burden has lightened. In fact, the burden has not lighted at all. The struggle continues. We must keep our eyes on those targets and try to live up to them and achieve them because every time that we deviate from the targets it will be reflected in interest rates applicable to the moneys that we borrow. That is the way it works. It is as simple as that.
I do not want to fall out with my colleague on nuclear energy, but I am not the country's greatest supporter of it for obvious reasons. I do not wish to go into them today but will say simply that alternative energy is necessary. We have access to alternative energy. Wind energy is a useful and worthwhile option. No doubt the capital costs are high but the running costs are way below what would apply to anything else. One ought not forget there is a suggestion nowadays to the effect that nuclear energy is free of emissions. It might be free of emissions but it is not free of residue, which has to be catered for and which has not been so far catered for in any way other than that it will be kept forever in sealed containers at the bottom of the ocean, and we do not know whatever will happen. The example I would emphasise in relation to nuclear energy is Japan, a highly developed society. When it came there, the catastrophe came the same as it did in Chernobyl. Albeit from a different route, the consequences were the same. We need to be cognisant of that.
On wind energy, pylons and wind farms generally, I agree entirely that they should not be located in sensitive locations close to houses. It is not necessary. There is plenty of wind blowing in areas where they will not interfere with residential development, etc.

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste recently visited an installation in my constituency, to wit, Intel. Interestingly, 10,000 people are employed there at present, between those who are directly employed in the installation and those in the construction sector. If one looked out the window from where the presentation was being made, one could see cables and pylons all over the place. That is how the energy got there, as there was no other way to do it. One can talk as romantically as one wishes and it would be much nicer to have everything underground - I realise one cannot put wind turbines underground - but to achieve such a level of development, one must provide water, electricity, information technology and infrastructure at the levels that are required in modern business. In the review that now is taking place, everything that can be done in Ireland must be done.

The submission from the Committee of the Regions earlier was well timed because it served to focus on those parts of the country that have not had access to worthwhile major development in recent years. There is a dual benefit in that if all areas are developed in unison, it lifts the pressure from the rest of the country to an extent. One should remember that while it is not always necessary to have a major airport, port or road within 50 m of a particular development or investment, it helps, and such infrastructure is needed. The Shannon development region was a classic issue long ago, whereby a particular focus was placed on that region that allowed it to develop in a way it would not have developed otherwise. I ask that this particular type of model be borne in mind in the context of any regional development taking place at present.

In respect of agriculture, Ireland is the fourth largest beef-exporting country in the world. While it is a fundamental part of the economy, I recall that during the boom times of the Celtic tiger, the entire agrifood sector was scoffed at as being old-fashioned and not something in which it was in any way trendy to be involved. However, when the chips were down, we were obliged to rely on agriculture, as well as the information technology, pharmaceuticals and chemicals sectors, and one should never forget that. Consequently, we should not allow ourselves to be hustled away into believing that we can downgrade and shrink a particular sector to accommodate the rest of the global economy. One must remember that, as the Chairman is aware, many of those countries are in a far better position than Ireland, with much greater national resources and many more options in respect of energy in particular. To do what is suggested in some quarters is the equivalent of an economic weapon being used unnecessarily against a smaller country. This point is made in respect of agriculture in general.

As for climate change, I believe that drainage is a major issue that must be attended to in Ireland in both urban and rural areas. Moreover, this must be done on a systematic basis that requires the full approval of the European institutions, which must recognise this sooner rather than later. I do not believe it is possible to do it under the use of regional or structural funds or whatever the case may be, as it is too big a job. I believe only two major rivers have been drained in this country over the past 60 years, namely, the Boyne and the Moy. In respect of both, all the interests, including the recreational interests, protested at the time. They said the rivers would never be the same again, but they were wrong. The rivers improved as a result of the drainage and there was a huge impact on flooding in the affected areas. When I see pictures such as those appearing on television in recent days that showed vast areas of the country under water, I consider that to be totally unnecessary. It has nothing to do with global warming or climate change but simply pertains to ensuring that watercourses are cleaned, scoured and de-silted on a regular basis to ensure the water can flow. As for the notion promulgated in recent years that there is no need for drainage and this is part of creating a national flood plain, are we out of our minds? To think along those lines in a country of this size is utterly ridiculous. As a matter of urgency, we must focus on the need to carry out drainage on both a regional and a national basis and to have it co-ordinated in such a way as to be of major benefit to the economy.

My final point pertains to working capital and the credit requirements to which I meant to refer earlier. Credit, in the form of working capital, now is recognised among the small and medium-sized enterprises as being a major issue. I do not know how it took so long for everyone to realise this because, like all other members present, I have been working with this fact over my head for the past five years. It has been right in front of our noses. These matters do not simply pop up overnight, and this is a huge issue at present because credit in the form of working capital is required to stay in business. The lending institutions that are in place are in a position to provide that working capital, but if they do not do so - that is, if they think it is possible to shrink on an annual basis - then the market and the entire economy will shrink as well. As it does not work that way, I ask for particular special emphasis in this regard. There are other issues to which I do not wish to refer at present. I apologise for speaking for so long, but these are all crucial issues that must be dealt with and recognised at European level, not simply in passing but in their entirety.