Ian Marshall (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for the presentation. A number of things spring to mind. At the outset, Professor Ó Gallachóir mentioned the collective responsibility we have. We have the legacy of a silo mentality on this problem. We have not worked across Departments and different areas of industry and business to adopt a holistic approach. Targets are ambitious. The fact that the target has been increased highlights the imminent crisis and the necessity for us to crack this discussion up. When we look at the growth of industry, agriculture and business on the island of Ireland, we are sometimes caught up in the headline figures while missing some of the improvements and gains in efficiency that have been made in how we conduct our business. That does not get away from the headline of increasing emissions which we must address. However, we must be cognisant of the fact within this environment of growth.

Taxes versus incentives have been mentioned. Dr. Rogan made the important point about getting the mix of incentives and taxation right. We must take a leaf out of the book of our neighbours in France where President Macron got carbon taxation wrong. That society was under immense pressure, whether in respect of agriculture, rural life or freight. When one takes a group of individuals who are under financial pressure, stress and duress and applies further taxes to them, it might not be an appropriate strategy as the French case indicates.

Regarding the electrification of our fleet of vehicles, we were told there were only 4,000 EVs on our roads. The majority of consumers would be keen to go to EVs if the cost were not so prohibitive. Electric cars are ridiculously expensive compared to their diesel and petrol counterparts. In the context of the need for a holistic approach, we must consider whether the grid and generation capacity will exist in the next few years to charge vehicles if a large proportion of cars in Dublin become EVs. I am led to believe we would need to install gas turbines atop buildings to provide charging points for some of those vehicles if that were the case. It is important to bear that in mind.

Mention was made of energy communities and the intermediaries and support they need.

We may have missed a trick in historically not embedding district and community solutions in our planning strategy. We have failed there, but we could deal with that in future. Should district initiatives and district heating infrastructure be incorporated into the planning process now that it is mandatory for development?

There have been a number of references to an holistic approach. It is an issue of not cherry-picking and not trying to get quick wins because we need to be mindful of the unintended consequences of some of our actions now. This discussion is about the next 20, 30 and 50 years. We have focused very much on generation. Deputy Eamon Ryan said we probably have not focused enough on encouraging people to consume less energy, thereby reducing our impact on the environment.

There is a reference to biomass and a reference to a land-use plan. Sometimes biomass can be misrepresented in this discussion. While it is not a silver bullet, it is certainly part of the solution. What is the view of the Centre for Marine and Renewable Energy on the production of biomass? I am not referring to agroforestry because agroforestry tends to be a turn-off for farming and agribusiness people. It is like suggesting changing the shapes of all the windows and doors in our houses. While we can all do that, it is a slow process to convert it back to what it was originally. For those in agriculture, agroforestry does not always float their boat.

What is the view of the MaREI Centre on the production of hemp as a sustainable crop? In light of the shift in the business model in the midlands from peat extraction especially, could hemp as an alternative crop along with a decortication plant in the region create jobs and at least go part of the way to addressing some of the issues?

Deputy Ryan spoke about conventional farming practice. We cannot oversimplify this discussion. In the past two weeks I visited a large pig facility which will be carbon neutral. There will be no slurry and it has air scrubbers. There are no emissions and no pollution. It is a circular economy producing its own heat and electricity. We need to be careful in our discussion on agriculture.

Members of this committee are lobbied from many areas of society and we have the Citizens' Assembly recommendations. At the moment there is major pressure to deliver policy that is popular. What is the view of the MaREI Centre on the importance of focusing on evidence-based policy?