Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for his presentation. I understand his frustration. I hear the Opposition continually looking for higher targets but then opposing the measures proposed, whether a carbon tax or planning reform, to allow us to deliver more quickly. There is a political dilemma to upping our ambition.

The EU has set targets for renewables, efficiency and effort sharing. On which target are we furthest from delivery? I suspect that energy efficiency has not got the attention it deserves, compared with what has been happening in other countries, where, because of the gas crisis that affected the rest of Europe more than us, there has been a sense of driving efficiency.

It is a win-win in that it brings cost savings. I saw the Minister's comments the other day about more returns for farmers to help them to deliver on the potential. I believe that it is important. Farmers do not see a pathway in the present arrangement of policy tools that gives them confidence that, in 20 years' time, they will have a prosperous family farm. I would be interested to hear the Minister's thoughts on that.

I am interested in knowing where we are with the concept of border adjustments. We happily look at transport solely in the context of fuel consumption, but, of course, if we go out and buy a large SUV, it adds enormously to the carbon emissions, but that happens in Germany, Korea or somewhere else. I am interested in the concept of recognising that it is not a big success if we bring down our inventory at the cost of putting it in someone else's inventory.

The Minister is right in saying that planning delays are an issue. I saw that electric vehicle charging is now going to another consultation. Are we just swamped with consultation about some of these measures? We have been kicking this around for ages. It would be worthwhile to detail the renewable energy projects that are being caught in the planning system and how long they are being caught for. That needs to be part of the public dialogue. Lodging objections is not free of any opprobrium. It is a national interest to achieve renewable energy. We need to see more facts about delays, where they are being caused and if justifiable complaints are being raised.