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

This is the thing I am coming to. That is correct. It should be possible for the European institutions to invent a structure whereby it would be more attractive for investors of all kinds - savers, strategic investors, venture capitalists - to invest in areas that will create long and short-term employment. It should also be possible to identify the projects that are most likely to produce results in a rapid fashion. That is what is required. It is a no-brainer. I know what the European institutions will say, that the member state governments cannot show these things on their balance sheets and so on. They do not have to show them on their balance sheets. If they create the right structure, they will do it right. That is my second question, whether the European institutions together can come to a conclusion on this.

I wish to return briefly to my colleague's reference to energy. Climate change is of great importance. It can be a double-edged sword. It can backfire on those with the best intentions depending on how we go about it. I agree entirely with the Minister and my colleagues, who have identified this as a key area. We should be very careful to recognise that our major industry is agriculture along with the pharmaceutical industry and the IT sector. This was the mainstay of our economic recovery in recent years. If we had not had those three areas, we would be as stagnant as the rest of the eurozone is at the moment. That is not saying we have achieved all of our objectives, but it follows that we need to be very careful in our selection of our options. We need to recognise, as do other European countries, that in 15 or 20 years from now there will be a greater dependence on energy supplies that are non-carbon-creating. How we generate electricity is going to be important. I do not happen to agree with my colleague in relation to the nuclear sector. That is just my personal opinion. We have to make a choice. There is not a chance on this earth that this country is going to be able to provide for its own energy requirements unless we do something major in the very near future. I reject emphatically the notion in some quarters that we are adequately supplied already. We are not. We do not have security of supply. There are many internal and external factors that will dramatically affect our objectives in that area.

If we are to achieve the kind of employment levels that we require over the next few years, we require a similar strategy here in Ireland to the one I have suggested for identifying infrastructural deficits across Europe. This involves energy, communications, air, sea and land transport and access to same for all the people in Europe, thereby attempting to bring them all together. There is great potential for achievement if this can be done.

I favour wind energy as a first option for ourselves. I have always held that view. I believe in recognising the aesthetics of the area and in having good planning policies along with due deference to all health issues that must be complied with. My problem with the nuclear sector is that notwithstanding scientific advances in that area, there is no known way yet to dispose of nuclear waste. Unfortunately, it was found with the Fukushima reactor not long ago that no matter how much technology one has, if the fracture occurs there are problems.

I was so saddened, as I am sure were many people, when I saw that relatives of the victims of the Dutch air disaster were prevented from collecting their dead and visiting the scene of the crash in the Ukraine. They were prevented by a number of hooded, masked men purporting to be soldiers and defending something that I am not too sure about. In my knowledge of history I have never known there to be a situation, even in a war, where people were prevented from collecting their dead. It is very important that the institutions of the European Union fully recognise the message contained in the prevention of European people from attending the scene of their personal trauma. There was no retribution and no way in which they could overcome the situation that was laid before them.