Tom Kitt (Dublin South, Fianna Fail)

As the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, pointed out, the motion has given the Government a valuable opportunity to set out comprehensively the range of initiatives on which it has given leadership.

As we celebrate Europe Day, it is timely that we position the national renewable energy agenda within the EU context. I endorse President Barroso's statement that growth and jobs are the central priorities for the Commission and I welcome the Commission's emphasis on setting a positive agenda for Europe, which provides added value for citizens. Growth and jobs need secure, sustainable and competitive energy. European energy policy, as the Commission acknowledges, is critically important for Ireland. Unlike Opposition Members who seem blithely unaware of major developments in EU energy policy, the Government has made it clear that Ireland has much to gain from the development of a European energy policy.

A key dimension of Ireland's input into the Commission's Green Paper and in discussions at the spring Council is the importance of renewable energy. The Government is working positively and productively in Europe to address the collective energy challenges of security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability. We are pleased the EU's ambitious new energy work programme is very much in line with the Government's approach and we welcome the strategic focus on renewable energy, energy efficiency and research and innovation, which will underpin the development and commercialisation of renewable technologies. We look forward to working with our European colleagues in delivering on the energy agenda.

The Government clearly recognises the increasingly important role of renewable and sustainable energy across all sectors of the economy and, working together, ministerial colleagues have developed a series of integrated and innovate programmes that are addressing energy production, supply and demand across the entire economy, from the farmer in the field, to the electricity supplier, the business community and the private individual, all of whom have an interest in the strategic development of this resource.

I refer to our key priorities and achievements. We have doubled our renewable electricity capacity in the past two years and are on track to meet our 2010 targets, if not exceed them. We are developing renewable and sustainable energy policies on an all-island basis that will ensure the best outcomes. We are working in Europe to deliver solutions and opportunities for Ireland in key energy policy priorities. We have rolled out an innovative pilot biofuels excise relief programme which has resulted in eight biofuels projects coming on stream. We have put in place a five-year excise relief package of €205 million, which will result in Ireland exceeding 2% market penetration of biofuels by 2008. We are introducing grant aid to underpin the excise relief programme and support indigenous production of biofuels. We are delivering an ocean energy strategy and we are supporting important EU initiatives in the areas of energy efficiency, energy research, biomass and biofuels. We are providing funding for energy research technology development innovation, RTDI. We have launched a €27 million domestic renewable heat grants programme, which has been greeted with enthusiasm by the public. A total of 1,100 grants have been approved since the programme was launched over a month ago. At least 10,000 renewable energy systems will be installed in homes under the programme, which will give a boost to individual householders who face rising fuel bills and who are anxious to play their part in developing a sustainable energy economy.

We will launch a major grant aid package for commercial scale biomass boilers, which will allow businesses to avail of lower cost heating. We will also launch a combined heat and power programme, which will assist the commercial sector in switching to more efficient electricity and heat generation, including electricity generated from biomass. We have introduced forestry grants to promote alternative use of timber and we will introduce a scheme of supports for the purchase of specialist wood biomass harvesting equipment. We have provided grant assistance in the agricultural sector for research projects relating to biofuels and energy crop uses and provided supports and studies to support biofuel deployment and policy development. We will shortly launch a major national energy efficiency campaign targeting individual consumers as well as specific economic sectors, through industry, SMEs, schools and the public sector. We will shortly publish an energy policy Green Paper, which will set out the framework for national energy policy for the medium to long term.

Our record to date simply cannot be matched by the simplistic and ill-informed rhetoric contained in Fine Gael's so-called "National Plan for Alternative Energy". Fine Gael's plan is worryingly devoid of strategic thinking and is clearly not as ambitious or all-embracing as the policy being rolled out by Government. It certainly does not stand up to scrutiny. For example, Fine Gael suggests that all fuels should be required to contain 5% and 2% of bioethanol and biodiesel per litre of petrol and diesel respectively. This is clearly not permissible under EU legislation and the Commission has cautioned that it could not be done on a unilateral basis by member states, even if the legislation were to change.

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