Johnny Brady (Meath, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. I compliment the Minister on the tremendous work he is doing in the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. Anytime I have requested a meeting, he has been forthcoming. Recently I have been in contact with the Minister's office about two groups from north Meath, one of which has put a great deal of work into wind energy in the area and another that has bought premises and will create jobs in alternative energy sources. I know that when the Minister receives the request, he will meet both groups. These groups comprise very energetic people who are prepared to put their money where their mouths are, do everything in their power to examine alternative energy and at the same time create jobs in north Meath, which would be very welcome.

The Joint Committee on Agriculture and Food recently discussed this issue in great detail. An official from the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources gave an excellent presentation on energy at the meeting. The committee also heard from an official from the Department of Agriculture and Food and an official from Teagasc. I agreed to Deputy Blaney's request to hold a meeting on this issue because agriculture is changing so rapidly. The growing of biofuel crops is one of the topics discussed in meetings I have held with some of the farming organisations in recent months, both on behalf of the committee and in a private capacity. I welcome the fact that the farming organisations, particularly, the IFA, make considerable efforts to encourage their members to grow biofuel crops.

This is a wide-ranging Bill, which when enacted will play a vital role in driving forward a progressive energy agenda in a new global energy environment with ever increasing demands on fuel resources. A key feature of the Bill is a move towards an all-Ireland market. The Bill also addresses east, west, north and south electricity interconnection, which is a significant part of energy policy. Interconnection provides strong physical links with Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK and will integrate Ireland into a wider European market. The Bill removes a current impediment in law by facilitating regulated electricity interconnection which is not owned by the ESB and gives the regulator the power, with ministerial consent, to secure interconnector bills by various means, including competitive tendering, direct authorisation or through the transmission system operator.

The Bill provides the legal basis for the Commission for Energy Regulation to engage in the development of an all-Ireland energy market, with a date of 1 July 2007 set for the establishment of an all-Ireland single electricity market. This single market will, over time, remove market distortions and minimise the wholesale cost of electricity. It will also create a more attractive location for new electricity generation investment and help improve the security and reliability of electricity supplies throughout the island.

It is vital to ensure that both communities and economies have access to safe, secure and sustainable energy supplies obtained through competitive energy markets. There is no doubt that this challenge can be met more effectively to the mutual benefit of both parts of the island if they work together. This is particularly fitting when considered in the context of the regional approach to the development of energy markets being pursued as part of the EU drive to create an EU-wide internal market in electricity and natural gas.

The creation of an all-Ireland energy market involves collaboration on issues ranging from improved interconnection, competitive markets, harmonised trading arrangements, generation adequacy, security of supplies, sustainable energy and energy efficiency measures. A key priority is to establish all-Ireland wholesale electricity trading arrangements, while another priority is the establishment of an all-island gas market in line with the commissioning of the infrastructure. It is also vital to maximise the benefits of environmentally sustainable energy from rapidly maturing wind generation and the combined heat and power business through to the growing rural biomass energy industry and the future promise of substantial energy from the sea.

There is extensive and wholehearted support for an all-Ireland energy market. Sometimes, competing issues are involved and not all of the benefits can be achieved immediately. However, the long-term reward will be a market which is much better placed to meet the future energy needs of the island. Given that a cross-Border energy market already exists, there is an acknowledged requirement for us to ensure that policy developments both North and South are progressed in a way that advances the goal of improved economic and energy supply benefits for both parts of the island.

We must also act to ensure that policies are developed to exploit opportunities for enhancing the value of the energy industry in the island through external links with Great Britain and continental Europe. The energy policy agenda must be widened beyond traditional market development issues to take account of national and international concerns about combating climate change. More particularly, there is a requirement that we follow renewable energy and energy efficiency opportunities where benefits can be enhanced by acting on an all-Ireland basis. Market structures must be integrated and infrastructure investment secured to improve island-wide efficiencies.

Co-ordination is needed in the activities of the regulatory authority and transmission system operators. In the final analysis, it must lead to unified regulatory and system operator arrangements for the entire island which are geared to the delivery of measurable benefits. Energy issues are complex, frequently interconnected and often related to long-term investment decisions. One must also take into account the different stages of development between the electricity and natural gas markets and infrastructure. This means that achieving the most advantageous outcome for the entire range of energy policy issues will be protected.

The support, dedication and active co-operation of all stakeholders will be required if the benefits of an all-Ireland market are to be secured. Ministers North and South have confirmed that any policy, legislative, structural, institutional or resource issues that may arise during the course of implementing this strategy and unfavourably affect the development of the effective functioning of the all-Ireland energy market will be carefully examined and addressed in conjunction with the relevant agencies. The aim will be to pursue complementary actions as far as possible.

The test by which the value of a fully integrated all-Ireland energy market should be judged is whether users on both parts of the island are better off than they would be in two smaller markets that are mutually supportive good neighbours but trade together rather than systematically. The potential benefits of a mature all-Ireland energy market would include a large single market with competitive prices. There should be open and transparent competition at all levels and for all energy sources, including combined heat and power and renewable sources. It should also mean a more stable and attractive investment location. It should provide a boost to the competitiveness of the wider industrial sector. There would be a greater security of supply, an integrated infrastructure and a sharing of a more diverse energy mix.

Greater energy efficiency will undoubtedly result in long-term savings through the rationalisation of functions in regulation, system operation and transmission areas, asset planning and ownership. It will also facilitate greater consumer choice of energy supplies or services and enhance the organisation of energy research to allow for the emergence of an all-Ireland network of academic and industrial expertise. The Bill includes provisions to further enhance the safety of energy consumers and the public, ensuring that Ireland continues to meet international best practice in respect of electricity and natural gas safety.

The regulator will be given robust new safety functions, including the regulation of electricity contractors and natural gas installers. The regulator will also be granted additional powers to ensure rigorous enforcement, including the designation for the first time of electrical and gas safety supervisory bodies and the establishment of standards for training and registration, the introduction of certification schemes and powers to prosecute rogue installers.

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