Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With due respect, Chairman, it all ties in; either we are having a proper debate or we are not. I welcome the setting up of the review commission chaired by Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness. There is absolutely nothing to hide here; it is about transparency. As it is a complex situation, that is where confusion can arise. It is about putting everything on the table. To go some way along the road with Deputy Paudie Coffey, there are two aims for Grid25: to reinforce and upgrade the grid and to put renewable energy generating projects on the grid. It is not all being developed for the same reasons, and people know this. In some cases, if renewables are being taken out that does not mean there is a need for pylons. When will the terms of reference be made available for the review commission? When they are made available there will have to be cognisance of the fact that the Grid West project, by EirGrid's own admission, is being treated as shallow development. Therefore, it is not being developed or rolled out to upgrade the grid for energy security or standard operational reasons but to bring out the renewable energy. A full debate is needed because there has been a vacuum and that is where the speculation comes in.
The practicalities include community gain and community contribution. There are very fine noble aspirations in many documents about this, whether it is renewable energy strategies or the programme for Government and the gains that might be had. It is sadly lacking when it comes to individual projects, as community gain is very much meted out to communities on an ad hocbasis. It depends on the developer and the local authority. If a local authority wants to make a stipulation setting out what the community gain should be, it does not have the statutory authority to do that. That issue needs to be addressed. There is also the issue that not all of the community is affected. That some are near neighbours means they are immediately affected. I have heard individual wind farm developers or promoters speak about this but I do not think there is a comprehensive document that can be employed by the planning decision makers to ensure uniformity in this regard, rather than pot luck depending on whether one has a good or a bad developer. For example, in my area, some large wind farm projects have been proposed, two of which will be subject to oral hearings, the first of which - about an ESB-Bord na Móna project, the proposed Oweninny wind farm - is next week. The majority of objectors are not objecting to the wind farm but to lack of proper engagement in respect of community gain and how it is up to them to try to get the best deal they can. Even though it is not a project for decision by the local authority, its hands were tied. It has a draft document on community gain but it has no statutory basis. That issue needs to be addressed.
There is also the issue of local employment. People want to see jobs on the ground. If wind farms are coming to an area, surely the local people must have a stab at getting those jobs. That is not a given, especially if contracts are given outside the area. In respect of State companies there are mechanisms that they can at least attempt to employ, such as seeking a derogation from procurement rules, to try to accommodate employment in the construction of such projects where there is disadvantage and high rates of unemployment due to the collapse of the construction sector. How can that issue be addressed given the ad hocnature of community gain?
What is the position in regard to the intergovernmental agreement and the memorandum of understanding since the Anglo-Irish summit? I understood that the issue was to be re-examined after a number of months and, perhaps, a new approach adopted. What interaction has taken place between the two Governments on the matter?