Matt Shanahan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

My question is for the SEAI. Mr. Meally spoke about the difficulty of building on carbon savings year after year. It is great to go into a building and change the lights, put up curtains and look at the ventilation to get a reduction but what is done next? We all understand it is a difficulty. The nub of my question is the ability of the SEAI to influence public policy. When electricity charges were very markedly increased this year one of the sectors most impacted was refrigeration. Shops suddenly found their bills were horrendous. A potential way out was to invest in new refrigeration equipment but then there is the difficulty of how that will be supported financially. It is a very difficult question. The SEAI is assisting with grant funding for this.

My question is on how much influence the SEAI brings to bear on public policy. When we widen it out into the development of large-scale renewables, which is getting to be a real issue, we have planning issues for onshore wind and we may well have planning issues for offshore wind. An area we could look at that, which would be far easier, is solar development. Deputy Stanton has spoken about the technicalities of domestic solar. Large-scale solar farms will have to be provided in Ireland. We have major issues with them already. In County Waterford, a large 500-acre project is going through an An Bord Pleanála review. Could the witnesses from the SEAI speak about a community rate or community dividend for solar farms? If people in an area have to look at a solar farm then at least if, like wind, they are getting something from it perhaps they can put up with it? Perhaps communities should be brought in and provided with equity in these projects. This would be the most sustainable and equitable way to do it. How is the SEAI influencing public and government policy to try to recognise the difficulties we have? As we try to deliver more and more climate change these issues will come to the fore.