Paudie Coffey (Waterford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Mulherin has raised many of the points I wish to raise and I concur with her and will elaborate on them.

We are in no doubt that it is very challenging to reduce carbon emissions across various sectors. Achieving such reduction will require co-operation across many levels, from the EU to Government and Opposition parties, sectoral interests,non-governmental organisations and the public. We all have a responsibility to engage in an open and robust debate on the subject. I am concerned about political point scoring. The NGOs call for climate change legislation, a justified call, and look for targets to be set. However when 'progress' is being made, for example on renewable energy and proposals for wind farms, there are objections. We cannot have it every way. Sometime soon we must own up to our responsibilities. If we want to reduce our dependence on oil and coal, we must support wind farms, biomass, hydro power and what other renewable sources are available. What I see in my own constituency is that when a proposal is made for a wind farm or for a hydro scheme, people are conflicted by the need to protect the biodiversity and the eco systems and use these arguments against the proposals. There are many conflicting elements that stall the progress of reducing our emissions. I think we need to be open and frank about the issues and I would like to hear the Minister's views on that.

The EU has a major role in helping to co-ordinate and to incentivise alternatives in the renewable energy sector. The Minister mentioned that we need to change our behaviour and our work practices. Three areas have been identified as presenting major challenges and we need to change old dependencies in the agri-sector, industry and transport. A great deal of work needs to be done to bring these sectors together with the public with us. Let me give some examples. The clean air package is one such example. Traditionally people in small towns, villages and in rural areas have had a high dependency on coal, especially in my region as we do not have access to turf and other burning fuels. Deputy Hogan mentioned that the small towns are contributing to the emissions and that is the reason the clean air package needs to be addressed. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI appeared before the committee recently. An open fire is only 20% efficient as 80% of the heat goes up the chimney. We have incentives for wood pellet boilers, geothermal systems which are justified but they are expensive to install and following installation they are very difficult to manage and control. In the context of our concerns about fuel poverty I raised the issue of incentivising the installation of a simple stove at that meeting, as a stove has the reverse efficiency of an open fire and is 80% efficient with 20% of the heat going up the chimney. They are quite cheap. I accept they still depend on solid fuel, but their use will reduce the amount of fuel used as well as the level of emissions. It is a great deal cheaper to install it in the houses that Deputy Mulherin has spoken about. We can have a major impact by introducing small interventions rather than trying to intervene with high cost renewables that have a low impact. I ask the officials from the SEAI and others to consider the 80% impact rule, whereby low level interventions achieve a high level of return. There should be incentives for simple measures. A simple stove can achieve that. I am only using the stove as an example of what we can do to assist in reducing our carbon emissions and also to assist in taking on board the concerns regarding fuel poverty.

The EU targets a 58,000 reduction in premature deaths. I presume that relates to deaths from asthma or cancer related illnesses from the air we breathe. Will the Minister clarify if it relates to carcinogens from industry? Why has that target been set?

Does the clean air package apply to waste management facilities? When it is proposed to install waste management facilities in particular areas the public raises objections on the grounds of odour and air quality. Does this clean air package that will be discussed at EU level relate to waste management facilities also?

We all agree that we play our part in the conservation and protection of our eco systems. I know flooding has been raised in the past at various levels. I have genuine concerns about the recent flooding, where a riverbank burst its banks and results in extensive flooding. This has had a significant negative impact on agriculture, agricultural output and most important on the dwellings that have been flooded. There is a conflict between trying to protect our eco systems but when floods occur there are considerable restrictions on people repairing the riverbank and returning their lands to normal agricultural practice and getting into their homes. I have had direct experience of it in County Waterford, where the River Suir breached its banks a couple of months ago due to the heavy rainfall in February. When the people who had to leave their homes because they were flooded went to repair the banks, the bureaucratic barriers they faced were significant. They needed waste permits, planning permission, environmental impact assessments. All of this is feeding into a negative reaction from residents in a huge hinterland to protecting diversity and biological habitats. These farmers have lived along the riverbanks for generations and have protected these habitats and they are now being forced into a negative reaction to special areas of conservation, SACs. There is public opposition which needs to be addressed.

Introducing policies and directives are all very well but unless the public buys into them we will face significant opposition. I support protecting eco systems and biological diversity but I am calling for tangible, practical systems or protocols to deal with crisis situations due to flooding or other disasters. The local authorities and the habitats and wildlife service should collaborate to make it easier to return agricultural lands and residences back to normality and that we end this current bureaucratic mess and tangle. These are the issues that I, as a public representative, am hearing on the ground. I know the Minister and his officials go to Brussels with the best of intentions but I think they need to have practical examples of how these European directives are impacting on Irish citizens. I ask the Minister to address these difficulties in the best interests of our citizens while also keeping in line with the directives we are meant to comply with, and raise them at EU level