Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 21 February 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection

Energy Poverty: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. John Mullins:

Yes. I want to support what Mr. Boland is saying. It is from my own experience. I have been trying to get Ireland to understand that solar PV in farms, for example, is something that can be readily supported by Government.

Amarenco, which is my company, operates in France. We have built a number of greenhouses that are let to horticulturists for €1 a year, and we have built solar PV barns - new sheds, in effect - for farmers. The French Government has supported those structures, as well as the solar PV. It has given specific tariffs for those greenhouses and barns or new or retrofitted sheds. There are countries already doing this and supporting agriculture. These specific tariffs are being offered in rural France and Germany, for example. I support the Senator in what he is saying. It is something Ireland should consider. We should learn from other European countries in that context.

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