Shane McEntee (Meath, Fine Gael)

I am pleased this issue is to be discussed. I have no doubt the initiative arose from a meeting the Minister and I attended a week or two ago. A number of classes were offered by the Leader programme and the biggest attendance was at one of the classes for alternative energy.

Energy policy will affect us all so rather than argue the points I will raise matters for discussion. The price of oil will continue to soar, whether we like it, because no new wells are being opened, in America or anywhere else. Ireland is an island with many indigenous energy sources and it would be a mistake to depend on another country for our energy, given that transport has become so expensive. We should, then, consider the various alternative energy sources of our own. We have farmland, wind and rain and I hope they will become the sources of our future energy. We will always be guaranteed wind, and wind farms are dotted around different parts of the country. People say they are ugly but they are an attraction for visitors. If they are located in the right places they could generate a system to provide us with energy and help reduce our dependency on oil. I propose dividing the country into smaller areas for that purpose.

Farming has become a difficult business and many farms are non-viable. One by one people are leaving farms, whether because of the cost or other reasons. The price paid to a farmer for milk in 1999 was £1.08. Today it sells for the equivalent of 89.5 pence, yet the price to the consumer has gone up by 300%. I do not know what has gone wrong in agriculture but if a farmer holds on to land it can be used for alternative crops to be used in the industry. One of the speakers at the meeting in Kells said it was cheaper for a person to burn corn or barley at €60 per tonne than to buy oil. I do not agree with that practice and it is terrible that food is burned to provide energy, but that was the bottom line. Barley grown under a grant system was burned for energy.

Farming is on the back foot but the land is still there. Our land is one of the biggest assets we have and we have underused it in the past ten or 15 years because of an EU policy from which we benefited in the beginning. Now the slatted units and milking parlours built with EU grants are idle so I do not have much faith in grants, including for alternative energy. The system must stand on its own. We do not have to buy wind or water because it will continue to rain and we will always have plenty of water, despite the warnings about droughts. When the Bill is passed, I hope heads will be put together. If nothing is done about this issue, regardless of which party is in Government, inflation will rocket and all our economic endeavours will go to waste. The construction industry is the mainstay of the economy and long may it continue to be. However, if the price of oil continues to rise, the building industry will come to a stop, which our economy cannot afford. It has taken Ireland long to reach this point in its economic development. We want it to be the best economy in the world. I hope there are at least another 25 years in the building industry so that the same standards enjoyed by other countries are attained. Then Ireland can surpass them and proper health and roads services will be provided. A proper roads system is required if an alternative energy system is to be built up.

The provision of alternative energy must be seriously examined sooner rather than later. I am delighted the process has begun in some ways. From the meeting at Kells, which the Minister also attended, I was struck by the number of people that attended alternative energy courses. They are willing to follow the example of Sweden and other countries in providing alternative energy sources. Growing trees as an alternative energy sources has its advantages. With grants and subsidies land does not have to be given over to production. We must consider replanting much of our land for alternative energy sources. Although one will not see such trees growing to their full extent, in 30 or 40 years they will become part of an energy system.

Incineration is an easy way of providing alternative energy but it is one we should not choose. I am against it because, although living in east Meath, I have had experience of mismanagement of these industries. I do not agree with producing energy from incineration. Although the issue has gone down the road of no return, the Fine Gael Party will come up with an alternative to incineration as an energy provider.

A fortune has been spent on educating young people in recycling. Despite this, on every road where the ditches are being cut for the spring, one sees discarded bags of rubbish. People seem to be abandoning the idea of recycling because of the opting for incineration in waste management. It is a despicable scene when one travels the roads of counties Meath and Louth to see people throwing bags of rubbish into ditches. The educational endeavours given to recycling will be abandoned as people believe all waste will simply be thrown into a furnace.

When the Minister takes on a matter he always sees it to the end. I hope he will reconsider the idea of incineration as a waste management process and alternative energy source. Ireland does not have the heart for it. The expertise is not available to us to ensure it will be done right. I am against the idea of a foreign company coming into our country and running an incinerator. They should go back to their own countries and let the Irish look after their own waste management. In other countries there are shortages in securing waste for energy production. Allowing them to buy our waste should be considered. I hope in the next six months an alternative to incineration will be put to the people.

The effects of nuclear energy have been shown recently in television programmes on the aftermath of Chernobyl. No one will want to see that happen in Ireland, especially when the United Kingdom is vulnerable. Ireland may not be noted for its sunshine. Although a solar energy system can cost up to €5,500 to be installed in a home, the systems can be very good for heating. The proper insulation of homes cuts down dramatically on the use of oil. From the experience of friends I know the heating only has be to put on for an hour in the evening and it will last through the night. Better insulation must be promoted through grants.

Ireland has available land, strong wind currents and good rainfalls to promote alternative energy production. Going outside these is not feasible. A grant system is not particularly fair when one is already paying it through one's taxes. Enough new taxes have been introduced in the past five years. There will be a tax for using the toilet next. If the Minister is serious on this, we must consider our resources. A continued oil supply will soon become a problem. The sooner alternative energy is brought forward, the better because it will ensure inflation does not rise any further. Mortgages are already expensive. The one thing that will drive them up is the price of oil. If Ireland could provide 30% of its own energy supplies, inflation would be held to the minimum.

Farmers have been driven off the land by wrong Government and EU policies. The Government's lack of interest in farming is shown by allowing seven farmers a week walk off the land. Dairy farmers recently took a reduction of six cent a gallon for milk. The price to the consumer has increased by 300%, yet dairy farmers have taken a 15p — in old currency — reduction in price in the past 18 years. Farmers cannot survive any longer. Although a grant payment of 9 cent a gallon for milk will be introduced, many farmers have indicated to me they will get out of farming. An alternative for farming must be introduced. I know one farmer who was burning his wheat, a food source, to provide energy. When the Minister takes on an issue, he sees it to the end. Although Fine Gael will be going loggerheads to take four out of the six seats in Meath at the next election, as a fellow Meath man I have no problem sitting down with the Minister to address this important issue.

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