Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

That might be called selective hearing. I made a strong statement afterwards. I also made an active statement on the issue when introducing the latest feed-in tariffs, which are a help mainly to wind energy although not only to wind energy.

With regard to Deputy Ryan's question about what would limit this, currently there are physical limitations on the grid. ESB Networks is working on this. It has a huge investment programme. The physical constraints of the system is one of the limitations. In addition, wind energy is not the solution to everything. There must be a back-up for every megawatt of wind energy that is produced to cater for the days when wind is not available. That is the reason we need to move into other areas, which the Deputy supports, whether that is biomass, tidal or current energy.

I welcome what Deputy Broughan has said publicly and what Deputy Eamon Ryan has said to me privately on this area. We should, if possible, work together to arrive at an agreed policy on renewables. It would be useful because the one thing this sector requires is stability and the ability to know what will happen over a 20 to 25-year period. That is required for the type of decision that must be made about investment in this area.

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