Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 147 together.

The Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, and I have stated on a number of occasions our commitment to the early provision of a legislative framework for the exploration for and development of geothermal energy. Accordingly, in the course of 2009, I instructed my Department to prioritise the drafting of a general scheme of a Bill with a view to producing heads in early 2010, with detailed legislative drafting to follow by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. Considerable progress has been made in this regard and I understand that the drafting of the heads is on target for completion in February 2010.

It is important to stress that geothermal energy is a new area of legislative endeavour in this jurisdiction and the Bill is likely to be substantial, dealing with a range of matters such as ownership of the resource, regulation and licensing of exploration and development, ancillary rights and protection of third party interests. We have engaged closely with industry and interested parties in a series of meetings and workshops to ensure legislative proposals have the benefit of their input. While the preparation of legislation is being expedited urgently, it is not possible at this juncture to commit to a date for publication.

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