Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister of State and his officials for all their hard work and also the senior Minister. The Bill concerns the safety of citizens, workers and energy sources. This significant Bill proposes best practice for the safety of petroleum exploration and extraction on which the Minister is to be complimented.

Increased safety in this area is essential. The Commission for Energy Regulation is best placed to monitor these safety practices considering it already has responsibility for the regulation and safety of downstream gas supplies. I am pleased that the issue of petroleum safety will now be the full responsibility of one body. For too long in many areas of governance, we have fallen between two stools with regard to many issues. There is often no direct line of responsibility. Private investors and people who want to develop their ideas get frustrated as they go from agency to agency with no proper area to look at. As previous speakers have said, a certain mentality is deeply ingrained in the apparatus of the State. I refer to the mindset of departmental officials who have been in their jobs for a long time. In fairness to them, they do a hard job to the best of their ability. However, they need to think outside the box. They can be insular and inward-looking when new ideas are presented to them. It can be frustrating for enthusiastic people who wish to develop oil fields or renewable energy projects to receive so little encouragement. They do not seem to be incentivised when they try to bring oil or gas from offshore fields, such as the Corrib field, or to develop renewable energy.

I wish to speak about my own constituency in this context. On a weekly basis, I meet people who are involved in renewable energy projects, including farmers who are being encouraged to change their practices. Such people are not given the latitude, encouragement or incentives they need to support their wonderful ideas. As we know, from small ideas and small seeds grow great acorns. That should be instilled into the mindset of the staff of State agencies, which have responsibility to control and an onus to develop. At this time, our economy badly needs new developments in the energy sector. Gas, oil and various kinds of renewable energy are needed to support our economy, especially as we depend so much on imports of oil and other commodities.

The idea of safety cases to be approved by the CER is welcome. I suggest that local communities should have a greater input into developments that will affect their backyards. The lesson of the Corrib case is that local involvement is necessary, even in the case of a small planning application. In recent years, proposals to develop incinerators in County Tipperary led to hugely divisive campaigns. All kinds of innuendoes and allegations were made. In some cases, very little of the suspicion, doubt and concern that was expressed was valid. As more lies are told, mistrust grows and the situation becomes more divisive. I have been through this in my own constituency.

Local communities must have ownership - more than in name - of the projects that are proposed. They must enjoy some of the rewards too. All developments have an intrusive impact on local areas. The environmental impact may include an increase in traffic volumes on local roads and the disturbance of flora and fauna. Local communities must be consulted, engaged with and, above all, listened to. If there are spoils to be gained, apart from the benefit to the country and the greater good of our communities, local people must share in them. Such benefits do not need to be financial - social benefits such as public amenities can also accrue to towns, villages and rural communities. The recent amendments in respect of public access and information are also welcome. Better transparency is always essential. It is paramount when agencies carry out necessary functions on behalf of the Government.

We need this gas. It is badly needed. It is a huge find by Irish and European standards, although perhaps not by international standards. I am disappointed that this process has been so slow. We cannot afford to wait because there is a very small window. We have to try to attract businesses and companies to Ireland. We do not have the expertise or wherewithal to do it ourselves. The climatic conditions off the west coast of Ireland mean there is a very narrow window, between May and September, in which exploratory drilling works can take place. We need to be able to move and to respond. If we can attract people who are interested, we should encourage them. I accept that health and safety must be a priority. We must have regard to all our rights and issues. We need to have a balance. If we want to attract people to Ireland, we have to allow them to develop their business.

The situation that has developed with the Corrib field is totally distasteful. Our State agencies - I single out An Bord Pleanála in this regard - have been responsible in no small way for the frustrations and anxieties that exist in this respect. It is regrettable that such worries have been hijacked by certain political groups with their own motives. Certain groups will probably always see an opportunity to divide and conquer, and to upset people. An Bord Pleanála should admit that it does not have the power, expertise or wherewithal to assess these situations and deal with them. It should have accepted from the outset that it was not able to handle this matter. This is not An Bord Pleanála's area. While it needs to be an independent body, it can be too obsessed with being seen to act in a totally independent manner without any modicum of fairness. I do not like to say that, but I do so without fear or favour. My layman's opinion is that An Bord Pleanála does not have the necessary wherewithal. It is too slow. It takes too long.

Section 1 provides that the commencement date for this legislation will be left to the discretion of the Minister. While I accept the need for such discretion, I suggest that the Minister needs to be proactive. If we are to have any kind of finish line, perhaps there should be a set commencement date in every Bill. There must be a time line with regard to everything, for example with regard to those who want to make investments. The State has been too slow. While we have many laws, maybe we have little justice in many areas. There are too many licences and regulations. I come from County Tipperary, where we had problems in the past with our miners. We have not learned from the mistakes that were made in that case. If we put too many rules and regulations in place without respecting the ones we have, we may be throwing the baby out with the bath water. In many cases, we are lacking common sense, which is a great thing in all these cases.

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