Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late. I was attending another meeting that clashed with this one. I was interested in the Siemen's report. It said Ireland possesses one third of Europe's offshore wind energy. It has the wind power to do that. I heard what Mr. Brady said. I still think other European countries that do not have nearly the same potential that we have seem to have developed a viable industry. What are the blocks to Ireland doing that?

In respect of biofuels, we are way behind in using it as a renewable source. We have relied on onshore wind and put all our eggs into that basket. We are ignoring the wider portfolio and bioenergy in particular given our large agriculture sector. I welcome Mr. Mike Quinn, whom I met in a previous incarnation. I think it was about this week last year, if my memory is correct. I express my sadness at the loss of Mr. Brian Britton. I had the pleasure of meeting him on a few occasions and he was very passionate about renewable energy.

We have failed to develop bioenergy. I brought forward a paper on behalf of Sinn Féin in January. I welcome comments on that. It is available to everybody online. I refer to tapping into the huge agriculture sector, trying to use it in a more sustainable way and creating a circular economy and extra income for rural communities. The European Commission says we should be able to export energy produced from biogas. We need a change in Government policy to develop the energy mix. Mr. Brady might outline what officials in the Department see as the change needed in Government policy to bring forward a strong biogas and biomass sector. However, I refer also to other sources such as solar, which many of us have been banging the door about for a long time, geothermal energy, which has been almost completely ignored and hydro, recognising its limitations but also that other countries have made progress on that.

I direct this to Mr. Quinn, in particular. I am familiar with the example at Cush. It seems like an easy plugin. The gas pipe is passing by between the railway line and the road. The old Cush Inn has been bought. The plant nearby will be bringing compressed gas to that. It will be a great success and I look forward to it coming onstream. However, I refer to the current haulage fleet in the State. Second to agriculture in terms of greenhouse gas emissions is the haulage industry. We do not want to stop the haulage industry but we need to find another alternative. What level of production would be needed in the State to fuel that? The other and final part of the question is: has the semi-State sector a role to play? Briefly, what would that be in respect of developing the biomass and biogas industries?