Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister's move as a start to what can be a whole new industry. Ireland should be aspiring to have a large percentage of its households generating their own power in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner, selling it back to the grid at night-time when not using power.

However, other European countries offer far more attractive incentives to encourage people to invest in microgeneration in the home. For example, in France the home electricity producer is paid a price of 30 cent per kilowatt-hour with a 50% tax credit for installation costs. An incentive of 42 cent per kilowatt-hour has resulted in Spain being ranked fourth in the world in home microgeneration. In Italy, the feed-in tariff ranges from 45 cent to 49 cent per kilowatt-hour with up to 80% of the capital costs available under grant aid.

Ireland, with a Green Minister who aspires to decentralise power generation into people's homes, farms and small businesses, is giving a miserly tariff of 19 cent. Will the Government examine increasing this rate to give the microgeneration industry a boost?

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