Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on this motion. As the House heard last evening, my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, is leading a cross-departmental cross-agency approach in developing and implementing our renewable energy policy. That Fine Gael has ignored the range of initiatives taken by the Government means either that it is not up to speed on this important area or that it is simply trying to be opportunistic. The Minister made it clear last night that the Government is pursuing a coherent and joined-up approach to the promotion of renewable energy.

The promotion of biofuels is one element in the development of renewable energy. As agriculture can play a central role in supplying raw materials for biofuels, the Department of Agriculture and Food has been working closely with the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. The agriculture and forestry sectors have the potential to be the sources of many feedstocks for biofuels. Oilseed rape, wheat and sugar beet have the potential to be used for the manufacture of liquid transport biofuels, while forestry by-products and other farming and food by-products such as meat and bonemeal and tallow can be used for energy and heat generation. Tallow can also be used for biodiesel production. Other energy crops such as short rotation coppice and miscanthus can be used for heat and electricity generation.

Biofuels are being developed not only because we need to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels for environmental and cost reasons, but also because the growing of energy crops for the purposes of the development of biofuels offers new opportunities to rural communities and economies. The reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, which was agreed in 2003, gives farmers the freedom to exploit new farming opportunities, including agricultural production for non-food uses. Supports may be granted to farmers for the growing of energy crops only in accordance with EU regulations. Such support is currently provided by means of the energy crops scheme which was introduced under the CAP reform programme and is administered by the Department of Agriculture and Food. Under this scheme, energy crops may qualify for aid of €45 per hectare as long as they are intended primarily for use in the production of biofuels and electric and thermal energy produced from biomass. In addition to this scheme, set-aside land can be used for a variety of non-food uses, including the growing of crops for energy purposes. Therefore those who use such lands in that way can qualify to activate set-aside entitlements under the single payment scheme. The EU has agreed that sugar beet will be eligible for aid under the scheme and may also be grown as an energy crop on set-aside land. Fine Gael does not appear to be aware of this.

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