Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I refer to a specific failure on the part of the Government to support a bioenergy project in my constituency, Limerick West. The Minister of State represents a neighbouring constituency and he will be well aware of the difficulties experienced in west Limerick because of job losses. Last year, Capway Bioenergy intended to be part of a new system and had proposed to commence a large-scale, state-of-the-art biodiesel processing plant at Foynes port that would use Irish raw materials. Towards this end, the company submitted an application to the Irish Government which was not supported. The company commenced operation in 2005 and constructed a pilot research facility for biodiesel production at its laboratory at Shannon, County Clare. It developed skills-based biodiesel technology operating procedures and a quality control system and it also developed a core staff with expertise to transfer to a commercial scale plant.

In the past two and half years, more than 1,000 jobs have been lost in Limerick West in three companies, both directly and indirectly. I refer to Kantoher, Castlemahon Poultry and Microtherm. Last October, I pleaded with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to support job creation in my constituency, but he failed to do so. Capway Bioenergy submitted an application to the Minister under the bio-fuels and mineral tax relief scheme for excise duty relief, which was not approved. This comprehensive proposal included a supply agreement with Dairygold Co-Operative and Acorn Independent Merchants Group. Capway Bioenergy had provisional distribution agreements in place with three of Ireland's leading oil distributors, Topaz Energy Products, Maxell Group and Tedcastles Oil Products. Furthermore, the company had signed the provisional supply agreement with high profile capital fleets, Roadstone Provisions Limited, STL Logistics and Pallas Foods.

This was an excellent proposal to create jobs in my constituency. A total of 80 jobs were involved and this would have been an injection of confidence into the constituency on the part the Government. Approximately 80 jobs would have been provided during the construction period along with direct employment during the operational period of more than 30 full-time positions and significant indirect benefits in the Foynes area. It would have been a new bioenergy company and would have been one of the first positive initiatives in the constituency following the devastation of the three closures to which I referred.

The company's work would have been complementary to the work being undertaken on the development of alternative farm enterprises through the growth of miscanthus grass in the area. Capway Bioenergy proposed to construct a large-scale, state-of-the-art biodiesel processing plant at Foynes which would use domestic raw materials. In its proposal, the company outlined that our planet's store of fossil fuels is finite and it is widely considered that the point in time defined as "peak oil" is imminent. This is the time the slow dwindle in oil supplies commences and this moment will inevitably be accompanied by unprecedented oil price shocks. The earth's remaining reserves of fossil fuels are predominantly concentrated in politically unstable regions. This increases the risk underlying continuity of supply in future. Fossil fuel use results in the emission of greenhouse gases that cause climate change. Scientists state we are rapidly approaching a tipping point, perhaps within ten years, where, without a radical reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, dangerous and uncontrollable climate change is unavoidable.

The EU has taken the lead in addressing the problems associated with fossil fuel dependency. The Union ratified the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which is legally binding. The protocol obliges Ireland to have its greenhouse gas emissions below 113% of its 1990 emission levels by 2010. Ireland's emissions trajectory suggests this target will not be met. The rapidly expanding transport sector is responsible for most of the increased emissions. To diversify its transport fuel supply base and address its obligation to control greenhouse gas emissions, the EU introduced the bio-fuels directive in 2003, which set a target inclusion rate for bio-fuels within the transport fuel portfolio of each member state of 2% by 2005 and 5.75% by 2010.

Ireland has responded with the bio-fuels mineral oil tax relief scheme which offers excise duty relief on bio-fuels to selected bio-fuel providers. One of the best submissions was made by Capway Bioenergy. The Minister of State might explain, when he contributes, why the company was excluded. Perhaps the Minister of State and his cohorts in Government have decided it is not necessary to address job creation in Limerick West because the outcome of the general election is predictable. However, that is not so and the failure of this employment opportunity and the residual loss of more than 1,000 jobs will be visited on the Government parties in the general election in my constituency. I do not understand why a response was not made to the lobbying by many people regarding this excellent proposal to create jobs and an environmentally friendly product in this area.

Biodiesel has been produced on an industrial scale in the European Union since 1992, largely in response to positive signals from EU institutions in conjunction with supportive initiatives from member states. Today there are approximately 120 plants inthe EU, providing almost 7 billion litres of biodiesel annually. These plants are mainly located in Germany, Italy, Austria, France and Sweden. We were anxious to join that group with a plant in Foynes in Limerick but the Government decided it should not be the case. I look forward to the Minister of State explaining why west Limerick and Foynes should not be included, when many jobs would have been created.

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