Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)

To be fair, the Green Party Members did promise there would be more rain.

These issues are becoming more central. I refer to environmental concerns and concerns regarding energy security such as, for example, the recent increase in the cost of oil to a record high of $120 per barrel. This represents a fivefold increase in oil prices since 2002. Obviously, Ireland does not produce its own oil and is highly energy-dependent. I understand that our total energy import dependency is well in excess of 91% at present. We must make radical changes and in general, the Minister has Members' support. I hope he accepts there is a genuine commitment in this regard and understands it is not an easy task to turn around and adopt a new approach in respect of energy. While I understand that opportunities were missed in the past, ultimately it is the job of Members to ensure that when policy is developed, it is fair and meets needs. Members must ensure that such requirements always will be complied with.

The Labour Party has a clear energy strategy. It wants to ensure there is a clear and reliable supply of energy, as well as a long-term sustainable environment. We must ensure that energy is affordable. The poorest members of our society are those who often bear the greatest burden in respect of energy costs. In this context, I will refer to a small matter that would have made a great difference. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government recently omitted to state that he would introduce a waiver scheme for waste charges for the poor and the elderly. The Labour Party has argued for a national waiver scheme to assist people pay for waste. Obviously, the costs of waste disposal have increased greatly. This constitutes an example, which also is applicable to the energy arena, in which people on low incomes are not being supported. This applies to waste management, ensuring that people's houses are energy efficient and to rising energy bills. It is estimated that between 60,000 and 100,000 households suffer from fuel poverty. The people affected must be deemed to be deserving of support and I do not believe that ignoring them will enable us to develop a policy that is both fair and efficient and which meets people's needs.

I greatly welcome the proposal to have an interconnection between Ireland and Britain. A number of interconnections will be developed. One already is there and there is potential for more. We may connect to mainland Europe at some point or we may depend on the British connection. However, such interconnections are indicators of a new relationship between these islands and between North and South that will ensure, in a practical way, that we work together for the betterment of our societies and for the environment as a whole. It offers us an opportunity to develop natural resources, particularly in respect of wind power, that had not been developed in the past. The Minister is keen to encourage technology development in Ireland and hopefully this can be achieved and manifested in practical ways because the costs of technological investigation and experimentation often can pose great difficulties for smaller entrepreneurs or innovators.

I wish to cite some concerns. Although I raised them by way of a parliamentary question, it was ruled out of order. Although I have been in the House for a while and have shadowed many Ministers, I have never had so many parliamentary questions ruled out of order by a Minister. For some reason, however, this Minister deflects many parliamentary questions. I am bemused by this practice because I do not consider that to be his inclination. In respect of offshore wind, I asked how many turbines had been granted approval, what were their heights and what is the current position because just before the election, the Green Party Leader, the Minister, Deputy John Gormley, made a commitment that no new permissions would be granted without legislation permitting public consultation. I am sure the Minister has a copy of the relevant letter as I certainly have.

The question was deflected from the Minister's Department in a manner that I found difficult to stomach. Although I asked the question I am unable to get an answer. My understanding, although I am open to correction, is that permission for approximately 400 turbines was granted off the coast of County Wicklow. This has given rise to great concern because the public has not been given a chance to express their views, good bad or indifferent, on this development. The turbines in question, were they ever to materialise, would be sited relatively close to shore and would be very tall. Were they located on land, the normal planning process would apply and everything would be hunky dory. A decision would be made and people at least would have been consulted. However, no consultation process in respect of planning exists in respect of offshore wind turbines. While guidelines and regulations have been developed to prevent major visual intrusion or impact in other countries, this has not happened here. This is regrettable because offshore wind is a great resource and we must ensure it is developed in a manner that is not unduly intrusive. I agree the North-South line should not have been called an interconnector. There was an element of massaging involved inasmuch as calling it a "North-South interconnector" makes it sound important. It is not an interconnector and that word probably frightened people more than it impressed them.

The Minister has a difficult decision to make because if the underground option is chosen it will set a precedent for other infrastructure projects. I would love to see these lines going underground for various reasons, as would members of the public who live along the route. For environmental, visual, safety and other reasons, it would be a step forward but I do not know how feasible it would be and I suspect the report will not support that option. However, public concern has been so great that we need a full debate in the Dáil when it is published. I welcome the promise by the Minister to publish before the end of the summer session so that we can have a debate on it.

Notwithstanding that, I want this piece of energy infrastructure to proceed. In the context of our growing needs, it is vital that we have safe, reliable and flexible infrastructure which benefits both parts of the island and, in respect of the east-west interconnector, both countries in ways that would have been impossible to imagine in the past, despite the technological advances we have already made on undersea telecommunications cables. This is an exciting project which everybody wants to be successful and I welcome the Bill.

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