Dr. Brian Motherway:

Communication was a common theme in members' qusetions. Deputy McEntee asked about our role in communicating on issues. It is part of our mission to present facts and engage with communities and individuals. That space is clearly crowded at present but we do our best to present facts and figures on how these measures can benefit Ireland. We also go to considerable effort to communicate the benefits of our programmes and the opportunities they offer homes and businesses to reduce their energy costs. Sometimes one meets with a business owner or manager who does not realise he or she can reduce the business's energy bills almost overnight. Communication and awareness raising is a fundamental aspect of our work. We are currently involved in advertising and local promotion of our schemes to encourage people to participate. We welcome the role played by Members in terms of their local channels of communications because they are a trusted channel in local areas. We are happy to provide them with leaflets or other material that can be distributed in newsletters because we value their support in this area.

Deputy McEntee asked when tidal and offshore energy generation will be ready for production. Tidal power generation is almost ready. A company in County Louth, OpenHydro, has received a considerable investment from France and employs more than 100 people at its manufacturing site in Greenore to produce heavy engineering equipment. However, there are relatively few sites in which tidal energy can be generated. By contrast, wave energy is a much larger resource. Deputy Feighan has been involved in work in this regard through the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly. However, the technology is at least a decade away from being ready to make a contribution. There will be opportunities for Ireland when the technology is ready, which is why we are building up skills among Irish companies, consultants and engineers.

I take Deputy O'Donovan's point about our dependence on other countries' energy resources. When people argue against constructing wind turbines, I like to ask them what they would propose as an alternative. Are we going to spend our entire lives depending on fossil fuels? Every year we send €6.5 billion out of the economy to make other countries rich by buying their fossil fuels. I do not think that is sustainable.

On the carbon footprint of wind, I do not have the figures to hand other than to note that a considerable amount of concrete goes into gas, coal and nuclear generating plants, in addition to the carbon footprint of the gas and oil they consume. I am not able to make a definitive comparison but I do not think it is the case that wind has an unfavourable carbon footprint.