Fiona O'Malley (Dún Laoghaire, Progressive Democrats)

Given our growth and how dramatically the country has progressed since the 1990s, dealing with our CO2 obligations is an enormous challenge. I see the Bill before us and know that the Green Paper on energy is to be launched on Sunday. The work the Minister did yesterday shows that the hot topic of this week is certainly energy awareness. I took his advice after reading his ten-point plan this morning, cycling to work and using public transport when I had to return to the constituency for something else this afternoon. It brings home the need for us all to become self-sufficient and the part that each individual can play in energy efficiency.

That is why I feel the question of the nation's fuel security is something vitally important that is addressed in this Bill. I am sure it will be a major element of the forthcoming Green Paper, which I look forward to reading. The Bill before us deals with the country's strategic oil reserves and how our EU and other obligations are to be delivered.

There is something for which we must plan carefully. As we all know, we have fallen short regarding our commitments, so we need a strategic plan to arrive at them. We must think about where capacity is needed, and that reminds me of the Progressive Democrats plan to move Dublin Port to Bremore. It underlines that requirement, not least because we have already reached capacity at Dublin Port.

Given the limit and the Seveso Directive, dealing with a certain type of hazard in an urban context puts constraints on development. That is the reality of Dublin Port and a reason for us to plan ahead effectively for the country and consider where we might build storage capacity. The only real option is to move Dublin Port out of the city centre and to a green-field site. Some might ask about the rest of the country, but the capacity and energy are needed on the east coast, which is why they must be delivered here.

We must also remember in sorting out storage and getting our reserves in order that we have limited refining capacity. We must be sure the stores are for petroleum products rather than crude oil. What the market requires must be matched by what we store. We all remember the fuel shortages of the 1970s, and we must plan ahead so they are not a feature of Ireland in 2010.

We must also be very cognisant of the Corrib gas field. Where we have indigenous energy supplies, we must exploit them. I do not like to provoke situations, but I was most discouraged to see that hostilities and tempers were running quite high again on bringing gas supplies to shore and marketing them. We must be realistic; we operate in a real world where prices are rising. Each of us campaigning on the doorstep will hear, as I have recently, that people are concerned about energy for the first time, given the increases.

It is not a panacea to deliver our own indigenous sources through the Corrib gas field, for example, but it certainly decreases our dependency on imported fossil fuels, and it is imperative that we extract that gas. I know the Minister has gone to great lengths and shown tremendous patience in dealing with it. The history of the matter is well documented, but we really must get the gas delivered, not only for the country at large but for the people of the western seaboard. We must be realistic and recognise that Shell does not have endless resources, and at some point it may walk away. We must be cognisant of that and try to deliver the opportunity to exploit our indigenous gas reserves in as a clear a way as possible.

The entire question of energy centres on efficiency. That is why I welcome the initiatives presented yesterday by the Minister. More are to be introduced in the area of transport tomorrow. That is where we stand to gain a great deal. In terms of generation, it costs much less to save a kilojoule of energy than it does to generate it. That must be to the fore in our policies. In geographic terms, Ireland is well located in respect of the development of renewable energies, particularly wind, wave and tidal power.

Given the initiatives in last year's budget as regards the fourth level of education, I should love to see Ireland become the research and development capital of the world for renewable energies. That certainly is my ambition for the country. I hope it is an ambition the Minister shares. However, we need to deliver it and ensure that we create the circumstances whereby that is done. One thing I have learned in politics is that one can deliver if one believes strongly enough in something. That is why we need to have those ambitious plans for the country. Ireland, which is situated on the periphery of Europe and at the end of any pipeline, is extremely exposed. We need to be imaginative and develop our own initiatives. There have been plenty of them so far and we need to galvanise these energies. In particular, I welcome the publication of the Green Paper at the end of the week. I also welcome the introduction of this Bill and look forward to dealing with what I see as the most exciting challenge in politics at present, namely, dealing with our energy security and ensuring safe energy for the future.

See this speech in context