Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. In terms of the electricity market, it is crucial that a company such EirGrid is a strong independent State company developing to meet the electricity needs of the country for the future.

It is vital that we facilitate the early delivery of the east-west electricity interconnector. I mention that in particular because others have concentrated on the North-South one. The east-west interconnector comes through my constituency and will arrive on shore in Rush in north Dublin. It is particularly welcome and necessary.

EirGrid has grown into an important supplier of electricity in the Irish market and expanding its functions is not only necessary but urgent. As the Bill outlines, EirGrid will have responsibility for the operation, planning and development of the Irish electricity transmission system.

I welcome the fact that the regulator must license all interconnector operations. We all have heard of the controversy in counties such as Meath and Cavan. The fact that there is a regulator gives us a degree of comfort that all regulations will be in accordance with best practice.

The supply of power is vital and the fact that EirGrid will have a borrowing limit of €750 million will enable it to deliver what we expect will be the best service.

Although it might not be commonly known, the towns at the northern end of my constituency of Dublin North, Balbriggan and Skerries are at severe risk of blackouts due to under capacity given the considerable growth in the constituency not just in the residential sector, but in the business and industrial sectors.

I welcome the establishment of an all-island single electricity market. It will bring price competitiveness into the marketplace. We cannot underestimate the strategic role EirGrid will play in providing us with increased capacity and also ensuring that competitive prices apply.

I welcome the Minister's commissioning of a study to provide independent professional advice on the relative merits of constructing and operating overhead transmission lines compared to underground lines. It does not necessarily affect me in my constituency but given the level of people's fear, that study will give us answers on reliability, the operation and maintenance factors involved, the environmental impact and any potential health issues, and on the costs of both types of electricity infrastructure.

I look forward to the development of the east-west interconnector because the country, not just my own area of Dublin North, needs it. We need to provide security of supply quickly.

Wind energy in this country has lagged behind other forms of energy supply. Communities need to look at the benefits of wind energy not just to the communities themselves, but to the country as a whole. A few years ago I was in Gran Canaria in a small community that was a residential and industrial area combined. The community had its own wind energy system that supplied local houses and businesses. It was a great opportunity for a small area to be self-sufficient in electricity supply. I watched a programme about the development of a new wave energy programme in Carlingford Lough. Given that we are an island surrounded by water and heavy seas, there is no reason we should not have more wind energy programmes so we can become self-sufficient in energy.

The access provided by the British energy interconnector will have huge benefits. It will guarantee our supply and it will ensure that price competitiveness is always there. Deputy Burke seemed to be very negative about the east-west interconnector and the fact that it only connected to Britain. He fails to recognise that Britain is being connected to mainland Europe. If we are connected to the British system, then equally we will be connected to the European system and that is all the more reason to become proactive in developing the east-west interconnector. This Bill underpins the ability of EirGrid to develop that programme urgently.

Irish businesses and household consumers demand competitiveness. They want to be able to buy their electricity at the same price as their colleagues in the North of Ireland and across the water. I do not have any reservations in saying that the east-west interconnector is timely and I want to see it onshore as quickly as possible. Half of Ireland's electricity needs are currently supplied by gas. That should be rectified and the progress of EirGrid and the ESB is vital in that respect. The east-west interconnector will enable us to have less dependency on gas supply. It is vital for the guarantee of supply and price competitiveness.

The renewable aspects have been dealt with in the Bill and everybody agrees we must make up for lost time on those issues. A recent study showed that business people were concerned about energy supply during normal trading hours. Businesses expect us to be progressive. We have come a long way in the last ten years in building our economy so that we can advance that. We can ensure that foreign businesses will not question their commitment due to concerns over power supply. We need to get to grips with the energy situation.

Our communities have failed to grasp the nettle on wind energy. Many communities have objected to An Bord Pleanála, which has resulted in some projects being abandoned, while others have been seriously delayed. As an island nation, we need to be aware that if we suffer blackouts, we will be looking to blame people. The little project in Gran Canaria for 2,000 houses and a small industrial estate was self-sufficient with a few wind turbines. We should be looking to such models. I welcome the approval from the local authority for the very first wind energy turbine in my constituency. The company involved will be supplying its own power. It is a regret that it was not able to supply local residents because connecting to the grid would have delayed its own project. The company wanted to contribute to the local community by putting in a second turbine, but due to planning restrictions a second turbine would have resulted in a much longer delivery time. Communities must look at their individual cases and allow wind turbines to go up provided there is a local gain to be made and the particular community can tap into the system for a cheaper supply of power.

The Government's target of achieving 33% of our electricity consumption from renewable resources by 2020 is necessary. There is a target of 15% for 2010 and few people in this House would argue against it. The recently published all-Ireland grid study pointed to a possibility that 40% of electricity might be provided by renewable sources by 2020. The overall reduction on other forms of energy is vital.

The Government decision in 2006 to appoint a Commission for Energy Regulation allowed us to proceed with the construction of the 500 MW interconnector at the earliest possible date, which will hopefully be 2012. The Government believes it is a national strategic asset and retaining it in public ownership is essential. This Bill allows for that and I cannot see why anybody should object to it. It is necessary that the supply of power is controlled by the Government so we do not allow monopolies to occur in the future.

A high-level co-ordination group has been established under the chairmanship of the regulator and I understand that representatives from the Department and EirGrid are involved. Work on this is progressing well. The design and construction of the interconnector are far advanced. I believe that by September of this year, a successful bidder will be announced. Speaking as one who has problems within the constituency, it will be very welcome news when we know that the tender has been agreed and that the construction can proceed.

The selection, planning and foreshore permissions are issues in my own area. In respect of the consultation in which EirGrid has been involved, I thank it for going out and talking to the community where there were concerns about digging up roads and going across fields. EirGrid has talked to the local people and is not endeavouring to ignore the wishes of local people, which is to be welcomed. As we all know, quite often, local people see problems that perhaps consultants working from drawings, papers or maps may not. I wish to put on record my appreciation of EirGrid for consulting people in Rush in north Dublin and seeking their views. This is an acceptable outcome in terms of the roads that will be dug up and the fields that will be crossed. All of those issues have been resolved satisfactorily.

I understand the Bill provides for future interconnection and makes some minor amendments to the Electricity Regulation Act 1999. It effectively inserts a new subsection in the 1999 Act to provide that a person operating an interconnector without the appropriate licence is guilty of an offence and is liable to a fine or a term of imprisonment. This ensures that there is consistency in respect of offence provisions for other licensable activities. I understand that it is already an offence to supply or generate electricity without an appropriate licence.

The Bill further clarifies the position of interconnectors with respect to the transmission system. Section 2(a) of the 1999 Act provides that the cost of interconnecters would be recovered through the transmission charges. The Bill provides that those costs are only recovered in the case of a regulated interconnector such as the east-west interconnector, which we have discussed.

I will conclude by talking about the issue of food.

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