Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I am glad to hear that and the information is welcome, though I hope the money does not come from capital set aside for broadband.

The Minister said that we have set a target of 15% for 2010. Is it time to revise this target upwards? That figure was set in the Green Paper and confirmed in the White Paper on Energy for Ireland, which was put in place by the previous Government. We now have a Minister from the Green Party who clearly seeks to change Ireland's attitudes on energy use and generation.

The Minister said in his contribution that by the end of this year we could derive up to 1,000 MW from wind. We only produce 6,000 MW, or a little more, so we are more or less at the suggested figure already, when the wind blows. The Minister will receive a lot of support from my party if he displays more ambition than the White Paper on short to medium-term targets for the percentage of power generated from renewable sources.

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