Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the invite. It is the first one I have received.

Bord na Móna is an industry that is in radical transition and is moving away from peat and carbon. Things are going to be stepped up a gear very quickly on that. One of the big issues we are facing is the availability of biomass. This issue crosses over with the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and other Departments. What is being done to develop a biomass industry here? A related issue is biogas. On the Continent, other countries are ahead of us even though proportionately they do not have as large an agricultural sector as we have and do not have the peat sector or the landmass to locate some of these plants. We have those things. The issues of Bord na Móna, biogas and biomass are related. They are really facing a huge transition, particularly in the midlands.