Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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All countries are working together. It has been my experience at these meetings that there is a high level of co-operation and interest in each other's conditions and circumstances. There is a very good level of debate. One learns a lot at these meetings about what is happening and best practice in other countries. One also learns about the views of other countries as to the advances we have made in this country, and it is important we should remember that. For example, on the renewables side, it is recognised among our European partners that we have made very good progress in Ireland. There is a high level of co-operation between countries.

At the same time, people have different perspectives, given where they come from. For example, to take the issue of nuclear, some countries are resolutely opposed, sometimes even opposed to discussion about nuclear, while other countries were prominent nuclear power countries that have changed their position. Germany has recently changed its perspective and the Austrians are very strong on the question of nuclear. There is often a reluctance to even have issues like that discussed, let alone any suggestion that people would take the same view on them. This is an interesting twist that is sometimes seen.

On the question of security, it is natural to think first of some of the countries on the eastern side of the EU which have a direct supply of gas from Russia and where there have been concerns in regard to potential interruptions in that supply.

That colours their approach to energy security and the geopolitical issues that are manifest in that part of the world in the post-Ukraine situation we are in. Energy security is important for everybody, including us. It is at the heart of what we need to do. When we talk about changes and moving to renewable energy, we always have to bear in mind the critical importance of security of supply. We can wax lyrical about the need to move to renewables, and I certainly do, but the first requirement is that we have a supply of energy for homes and businesses in this country. Therefore, security of supply is important for everybody.

Innovation is at the heart of what we do and it is a big part of the White Paper, given the sheer volume of innovation, ideas and products now coming forward. Just to take the energy efficiency area we were talking about, in terms of controlling consumption in a domestic setting literally through a mobile telephone, people will be able to remotely control the use of energy in their homes, such as when it comes on and goes off. With smart metering they will be able to manage their consumption of energy, not just through the day but also through the night, and they will be able to maximise what they can do in a home, in a business or on a farm. Innovation is going to drive this, and there are a many outstanding Irish firms and spin-offs that are prominent in this field.

We have a new energy research strategy, which I will be publishing at the same time as the White Paper and which pulls together many of the strands of this development. There have been great advances in the universities and research institutions, which have terrific people working hard to bring forward new ideas, and there are also those in the commercial sector looking to commercialise them. At the COP, as one would expect, there is a day focused on energy, one on transport, one on agriculture and so on, and I noticed there is also to be a day on innovation, which I believe is very appropriate. The Deputy is right that this will really transform things.