Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

A number of people touched on the anaerobic digestion policy. We had a briefing from some people working in CASE, the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy, in the North. They have mapped out the type of infrastructure that they might need and that might be sustainable in the North. In the South, we have the renewable spatial plan to come from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which is about regional targets for the delivery of renewable energy. Significant questions that come up about anaerobic digesters include how many of them should there be, where would they be appropriately located, their sustainability with regard to what is being fed into them and how we are using our land. There are a number of applications across the State, including in my own area. Those are the questions that communities have about these projects. My sense about all this is that it is far better if it is plan-led and there is a sense that there is oversight of it, rather than it being speculative, developer-led and potentially contradictory or opportunistic. Are there plans to align the anaerobic digestion strategy with the regional spatial strategies for renewable energy? How are those questions of sustainability being assessed in that?