Niall Collins (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)

There is a bigger issue regarding the salaries of our entire semi-State sector but it is a matter for another day.

I welcome the comments made by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan on his expectation of a double digit price decrease in the cost of energy from the Commission for Energy Regulation. Various speakers have mentioned competitiveness which is the theme of the day in many discussions. If we do not get our energy prices on a downward spiral we will not be at the races when it comes to competitiveness.

The issue I would like to address in this debate is wind generation of energy. We have to do more. We have it within our remit here to help, where at all possible, wind generation companies to try and achieve their targets and goals in a more timely manner. It currently takes approximately eight years for these companies to achieve a grid connection but their planning permission only lasts for five years. I will provide an example in a moment from my own county of Limerick.

A disparity between five and eight years leads to delays and significant increased costs for the promoters of wind energy companies and we must sort out this problem. We must look at changing the Planning and Development Act to allow for a greater period of time for planning permission for these sites from five years to perhaps ten or 15 years. We could also look at including them under a system whereby strategic sites can go straight to An Bord Pleanála for planning permission, rather than having to go through local authorities.

In my county, Eirtricity has four sites under its control. One is developed and three are in development. It had to go through a tortuous programme to achieve an extension of planning permission for the three remaining sites. The total investment in the four sites is €276 million. There has a been a rates windfall for the local authority of approximately €1 million and a farmland rental windfall for the owners of the site of approximately €1 million. These companies also promote a community fund whereby the communities in the areas where there are developments are allowed to apply for funding for various projects. There are very positive spin offs. We need to do more to help them and can do so here.

The home energy saving scheme was mentioned. We need to do more to promote that and hopefully the opportunity will come quite soon. I understand in excess of €100 million will be made available over the next number of months through the programme for Government. Limerick was part of a pilot programme, along with Clare, north Tipperary and Dundalk and 457 household applied for inclusion in it, with approximately 258 taking it up. My office was inundated with people trying to get onto the scheme.

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