Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

In regard to the Deputy's last question there has been no change to mineral developments and the specific regime of licences for on land and offshore. The reason the scheme is designed to be attractive is because of the particular conditions and so on for prospectivity off the Irish coast. The scheme has been revised three times since 1975, the reason on each occasion being that the numbers seeking to explore and drill wells were diminishing. Even with the attractive terms since the last revision in 1992 there has been no increase in the number of firms applying for licences. There has been no update on the drilling of wells this year. This is the first year for a considerable period when no wells will be drilled off the Irish coast. I do not consider the time is right for a change in those terms. There are some who would argue that if the terms were to be changed, they should be made even more attractive. However, that would not be feasible.

With regard to achieving our targets for Kyoto, our target of 13.2% for the generation of electricity by 2010 is near enough to the limit of what we can do in that short period. I agree with the Deputy that we need to be more ambitious into the future. For that reason I have ordered a review of energy policy which I hope will be completed by mid-2006. I hope Members on all sides will contribute to that review. In the area of alternative energy we need to plan for a 20 to 25-year period rather than the short term as at present. The point the Deputy made about being more ambitious and catching up with some of our European neighbours is covered in that response also.

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