Paddy McHugh (Galway East, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion. The Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gas emissions set out targets that must be met by countries, including Ireland. However, Ireland has not achieved its targets and has bought its way out of trouble by purchasing carbon credits. This is not an acceptable approach for the future.

The Government needs to set about the business of reducing emissions in a more structured way. Rather than rely on the purchase of carbon credits, the Government now needs to make a decision to reduce greenhouse gas emissions nationally. A determined effort must be made to identify opportunities for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions on a sector by sector basis. If we do not follow this path, Ireland will continue to pay millions of euro in fines or on the further purchase of carbon credits.

Renewable energy can make a major contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by adding to the energy mix and reducing reliance on carbon emitting fossil fuels. However, renewable energy will only prosper if the Government creates the necessary conditions to allow for expansion. Ireland has a distinct advantage in the development of renewable energy. We have a favourable climate for wind energy, with strong and relatively consistent wind speeds. We have not, however, invested sufficient resources in researching the feasibility of wave and tidal energy.

The renewable energy possibilities for Ireland are varied, ranging from wind, wave, solar and bio-fuels, etc. Currently, we have an over-reliance on imported fuel for energy generation. Surely, rather than paying millions to purchase carbon credits, it would make more sense to put millions into building wind farms. People involved in the industry seriously question the Government's estimate that buying credits will cost approximately €270 million over the next five years. These people put the cost at up to €1 billion, which would be a massive injection in funding for wind farms.

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