Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)

The latter Bill was intended to turn the ESB into a plc under the Companies Acts. We are all aware of the long timeframe in developing energy infrastructure, but surely the Government should not have taken almost ten years to reach the modest platform provided by this Bill.

We learned recently that more than €1.2 million of taxpayers' money has been spent on commissioning a report by the consultants Deloitte & Touche that will not be published or presented to the House, even though select journalists and publications appear to have obtained detailed knowledge of various aspects of the report and of the future of the ESB. Unfortunately, the energy spokespersons in the House have not received the same information, which is undemocratic.

The Government appears to be sleepwalking on the issue of energy and has been for the past few years when most of our EU partners presented major energy reviews and policies. The United Kingdom is in the process of presenting its second major energy review of the past three years, but no comprehensive energy document has been published by our Government over its nine years in office. The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said that after physical security, energy security is the most important task of any government.

Although energy matters have gained unprecedented public attention in the past six months, the past week has seen some particularly important issues brought to the fore. In a new international survey published on Monday of countries in which it is most attractive to invest in renewable energy technology Ireland dropped from sixth to 12th place. According to the new quarterly renewable energy country attractiveness indices from the consultants Ernst & Young, Ireland is ranked in 12th place, having dropped six places over the past year. This league table is based on an assessment of national renewable energy markets, especially the fiscal supports and tariffs that are in place, the state's renewable energy infrastructure and the potential renewable resources a state possesses.

Ireland's ranking in the long-term index is particularly disappointing as that index reflects the unexploited resources of a state. Ireland has significant sources of untapped wind and wave power. The Labour Party believes Ireland can and should become an exporter of renewable energy. The recent report indicates the mechanisms in place to facilitate the development of renewable resources are not currently in place to allow greater investment in the renewables sector. The report shows that Spain and the United States remain at the top of the long-term renewables index for attracting investment in the renewables industries as both continue to show strong growth in the renewables sector and attract the bulk of capital investment. We are all aware of the achievements of Spain in the area of wind power.

In contrast to the dismal Irish performance on attracting investment in renewables let us look at how different it is abroad. I wish to mention four exemplar nations, Austria, Sweden, Scotland and Denmark. Although each of these states has excelled in developing different renewable technologies, they have in common a proactive approach by government on energy policy which concentrates on the natural strengths and advantages of each state in the advancement of alternative energy resources and the diversification of the fuel mix. These nations are surging ahead with increasing the role of renewable technologies in their energy mix. For example, in Sweden in 2003 approximately 43.9% of electricity was generated through renewable sources, including hydro, wind and biomass.

The work of the Scottish Executive has been outstanding, despite the fact Scotland is not yet fully independent. The Labour-led Executive, led by Jack McConnell, has much power over Scotland's future and has taken some remarkable initiatives in the area of wind and wave power. The focus on renewables research and development undertaken by the Scottish Executive in the few short years of its existence puts to shame the measly time and resources our Government has devoted to the same issue. Scotland has declared the wish to become the "Saudi Arabia" of renewable energy.

Austria, a densely forested region, has shrewdly become a world leader in the development of bioenergy, especially biomass. In 2003, approximately 70% of Austria's domestically produced power was generated through renewable sources and biomass alone was responsible for 11.2% of Austria's total primary energy supply and 21% of heat production. I know this subject is close to the Minister of State's heart and I commend him for his initiatives in developing the use of biomass in the forestry industry in his previous Department.

Denmark, with its significant wind resources, claims it is the leading wind power nation in the world. The Danes were pioneers in developing wind turbine technology and they manufacture almost half the wind turbines used all over the world. The Danish wind industry employs approximately 20,000 people and generates almost €3 billion for the Danish economy. Approximately 5,500 gigawatts of energy was produced by wind turbines in Denmark in 2003 and this provided electricity power for approximately 1.4 million Danish households.

These four countries are examples of the route Ireland could take. It is important to discuss these issues coming up to a general election so a new government will go forward with a coherent and consistent policy, based on increasing the development of renewable, biomass and biofuel energy.

There have been numerous warnings in the past two weeks of how much our failures in dealing with energy change could end up costing in the next ten years. Under the new emissions trading system businesses and industrial users will have to cut their level of emissions or purchase carbon credits on the open market. Currently the cost for one year's credit is approximately €27 per tonne. However, recent analyses in the media and scientific journals have predicted a sharp escalation of these prices that could end up costing Irish industry between €500 and €1 billion between 2008 and 2012.

Recently we had a debate on this portfolio and the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, warned us not to waste taxpayers' money. Not alone is the Minister one of those primarily responsible for the waste of taxpayers' money — approximately €15,000 a week will be spent on minding and protecting his voting machines which are basically junk, having wasted €70 million on them — we are now faced with a bill of approximately €1 billion. Where is the guilty Minister now?

More ominously, taxpayers will have to purchase carbon credits if as a nation we exceed the national limit of greenhouse gas emissions as agreed under the EU-wide national allocation plan. Eirgrid has stated that the emissions trading scheme will have an effect on the cost of electricity generation. Therefore we will pay more and not just through our taxes. This is money the Minister for Finance could spend elsewhere. It is ominous that in the most recent budget the Minister had to allocate some of his precious funds towards carbon abatement, which is an astonishing development. Now we are told electricity prices will definitely rise because of the Government's failure over the past nine years to take climate change seriously. We dealt with a Bill earlier on which a group of Government Deputies stated the proponents of the Bill, the Green Party, were mad because they wanted an annual debate on climate change in the House.

Carbon credit purchase is the first obvious financial impact of climate change policy on taxpayers and without serious changes to our energy mix, it will be the first of many. From 2012 onwards, the burden of climate change policy will be enormous. We need a radical shift in mindset by the Government on energy policy. We must start taking it seriously and discuss it, not just in the House but in every forum around the country. It is interesting that the people we represent are deeply interested in the area, which is hopeful.

I warmly welcome the sections of the Bill that will facilitate the moves towards an all-island market. Part 2 of the Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill proposes critical new functions for the enhanced role the Commission for Energy Regulation will perform. How will the relationship between CER and the Northern regulator be teased out? Should this issue not be included in the Bill and will we need amendments on this?

The question for the longer term is what the future will be. Will the next Government introduce a single all-island regulator Bill? In other words will we have a single regulator and will the roles of our and the Northern regulator be merged? We have heard from Europe and Commissioner Piebalgs visited us recently and gave us a pep talk on the importance of this issue. However, he seems to talk about a two-island market with Britain in which we will be part of a regional market. The implication is that we will have significant interconnection and must provide for this. Does the Bill go far enough on this? There are some questions to be answered with reference to interconnectors.

Earlier in the year there were reports from Brussels that France, Germany and the Benelux are in talks to set up a single electricity market as a first step towards a common energy policy. What are the implications of that development for us? Will we become part of a new EU electricity club?

Currently, the ESB is the dominant operator in the Irish market and enjoys a market share of more than 60%. It is hoped that in July 2007, when the all-island market is fully implemented, its share will fall to approximately 43%. A great deal of discussion has taken place, mainly in the media, about the future role of the ESB, as a key public policy instrument in the energy market. However, there is virtually nothing in this Bill that gives us any idea as to what that role might be in the future.

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