Ian Marshall (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their thoroughly enjoyable presentations. Like some of my colleagues, I would like to reference Ms Marie Donnelly's presentation last week which was really informative and it is certainly worth reading.

On the information provided by Mr. Griffin, obviously it is not going to be one solution that solves these problems, but it will be a combination of things and it is a case of trying to prioritise and put money where it is most wisely invested. It is an approach of carrot and stick.

I was going to ask a question on investment in research and development in wave and tidal technology but it was touched on briefly. We live on an island and it is not something that is researched and invested in heavily in other parts of the world because they do not have the access to tidal occurrence the way we have.

Mr. O'Shea made the point that close to one third of emissions are from agriculture. Agriculture and agrifood are very close to my heart.

We must identify that agriculture is one of the villains of the piece, but it is also one of the few industries that can be part of the solution to the problem. Its ability to sequester carbon is often overlooked. Windmills, solar panels and other things cannot sequester carbon but agriculture can.

I was going to ask specifically about biomass, on which probably there is a difference of opinion. There was reference to the nature of farm businesses and small isolated individual SMEs. Has enough work been done on the potential of biomass? Bearing in mind that we live in a temperate climate, with good access to water, we have an ability to grow the biomass sector. We are well positioned to grow feed stock which can often be an alternative income source for a small farm business. We are certainly well placed to do so, but sometimes biomass is overlooked. We are doing some work in looking at products such as hemp that produce oil, protein and fibre. We are also looking at biopolymers from hemp which can bioremediate and decontaminate soil. Moreover, if one gives a small family farm an alternative crop to grow, all of a sudden there are social goods. It is something we need to factor in.

I am due to attend a meeting tonight which will look at the calculations for emissions from agriculture and whether we have them right. It is often easy to jump at the easiest fix and if agriculture is a big offender, legislate hard against it.

On Mr. Sheer's piece, I will make two points. I do not want to go over ground we have already covered. Obviously, community ownership is key. We are lagging light years behind our European counterparts in pursuing initiatives to encourage SME businesses to generate and sell power to their neighbours or adjacent businesses. It is something about which I have always shouted and I am encouraged that the European Union has now referenced it and is making a point about it. How do we use it as a catalyst? There is probably a collegiate spirit and we merely need to put measures in place to make it happen.

On electric vehicles, when one lives in a rural environment, one does not have access to charging points. It is a big problem. The problem one will encounter is that as the uptake increases of electric vehicles, the first difficulty which will lead to it being dead in the water will be presented by access to charging points. It is all well and good when one's life and work are based in Dublin, but in rural areas one has large distances to cover to access charging points. Having enough of them is key. In the past few days at a charging point I saw two or three vehicles waiting to use it. If we do not provide adequate charging points, it will kill off the industry.

It is honourable and creditable that the intention is to move away from peat by 2030 and coal by 2025. The Bord na Móna ambition to reach a figure of 75% for renewables by 2024 is creditable. However, I am genuinely concerned about the commitment to deal with the 4,000 people in the midlands whose lives will be adversely affected. I refer to the businesses and families who currently derive their income from the peat industry. I am interested in learning more about what the transition will look like and the alternative business propositions for the people concerned. It is one thing to say there will be a transition and a cessation of burning peat, but we have a responsibility to offer the people concerned alternatives and a long-term vision or strategy for a different business.