Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hope everybody can hear me okay. I am in Leinster House. I extend my thanks and appreciation to the members of the council and those who served on the sub-committee. As others have said, their work is really valuable and we would not be here without them. They had particular time constraints.

It is really appreciated. I have three questions on energy systems, land use and transport, with an interrelated question on planning in terms of density.

I listened carefully to Dr. Daly's response to Deputy Bruton on how quickly people will accept change in terms of the broader questions that have been posed. One of the biggest questions I have on our ability to reach our targets for greenhouse gas emission reductions and wean ourselves off fossil fuels appropriately is how achievable some of the targets are with regard to some parts of the energy sector, particularly when it comes to the geopolitics of the gas supplies to this country, which are limited domestic supplies. There is a broader question as to whether the wind energy sector is capable of ramping up to the level we require and whether the Government and Oireachtas are doing enough to facilitate that, noting certain Bills that are before the House.

On land use, Dr. Hanrahan mentioned the sort of activity level changes that are required in the context of forestry and afforestation and the problems that exist. It occurs to me that while we have made great strides in improving our afforestation levels in recent years, we seem to have just stopped in the past three or four years. I am baffled. Perhaps it is a lack of information on my part. I am baffled that we seem to be stuck in the mire in terms of afforestation and what we need to do to improve that sector. I would be pleased to hear any insights or remarks Dr. Hanrahan may have on that issue.

While it is a micro issue, peat extraction has arisen in recent months. It is frustrating because we have done the right thing in stopping peat extraction for energy purposes. We are heavily engaged in bog restoration, yet we are importing peat for certain sectors that do not require it and for other sectors that will not survive without it. Having read up on this issue a little, it appears that some of the sectors, particularly horticulture, would be self-sufficient with a small amount of peat extraction in conjunction with the regrowth and restoration of bogs. If there is a view among members and witnesses today, I would appreciate hearing it.

I completely agree with Deputy O'Sullivan's remarks about the transport sector. I will not repeat them. Investment in alternatives is where we need to be. I thank Dr. Daly for her remark about journey reductions and heavy investment in public transport. Related to that is the work of the Oireachtas and whether we and, indeed, the local authorities are doing enough in the area of compact development, building upwards and taking a strategic overview of our major cities and towns. We are not doing enough. We are blocking high-rise development even though it is environmentally sound and will, from a transport perspective, take people off the roads and out of cars and put them into public transport to access employment nodes, which are often in and around where they need to live. That is the way of the future. I believe I see some heads nodding. We all agree on this, yet we have high-rise development being objected to and planning permission being declined by the same planning authorities that authorised the heights proposed for particular locations. Issues like that frustrate me because we are going backwards. Sprawl continues and we are still building two-bedroom semi-detached houses in the suburbs and all the rest of it.