Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein)

Most of the specifics of the Bill have been adequately dealt with and my colleague, Deputy Martin Ferris, has addressed the issue of fuel poverty, which is central to the energy sector and is particularly important as we enter winter when many people find it most difficult to heat themselves and their homes properly. I hope this will be taken into account when framing the budget and that some concrete income measures can be introduced to tackle fuel poverty alongside the plans to address fuel efficiency within homes.

The wider issue is one of where to access our energy. Central to this is increasing the proportion of our energy needs that are met from indigenous renewable sources. The State has signed up to ambitious targets for renewable energy generation, but there are questions regarding how they will be achieved in the context of overall policy. One matter is certain, namely, in common with other possible job creation initiatives, the targets require positive engagement from the State sector. This appears to be frowned on at present and goes against the obvious ideological bias that apparently dictates the IMF's approach. For example, the development of renewable energy sources ought to be led by State agencies. In this context, it is vital that the ESB, Bord Gáis and Coillte be kept in public ownership to be the driving forces in the sector. The Government plans to establish the NewERA company, which will be involved in the bio-energy sector, and we will watch with interest how it develops in the context of possible objections by the IMF and EU to State investment.

The scale of our energy dependency is indicated by the fact that we import to meet 90% of our needs and consume approximately 8 million tonnes of oil per year. Most of it is used by private car owners. There is considerable scope for the replacement of a significant part of that through substituting bio-fuels. It is an undeveloped sector in Ireland despite what one might imagine to be the natural advantages of an agricultural country. My party has published proposals to revitalise the sugar beet sector as a source for such fuels following the scandalous closure of the sugar sector by Greencore under the previous Administration. The closure impacted on my county in particular through the closure of the factory at Mallow. Thanks to the European Court of Auditors, we now know that this was not done in accordance with any EU decision or recommendation, as was claimed. My party and others would argue that it is not too late to retrieve that situation and revive the traditional sugar sector. As part of that effort, we should divert a substantial part of the crop into the production of bio-fuels.

I have recently seen a proposal that explored the possibilities for bio-diesel production. A factory established for this purpose could utilise all aspects of the crops, including the end production of fuel. One estimate is that a factory processing a crop from 50,000 acres of tillage land could employ 250 people. This would give a local economy a significant boost and address the need to lessen our dependence on imported fossil fuels via an indigenous substitute.

We have almost 3 million acres of tillage land. Their potential is considerable, even if only a relatively small proportion of that land is diverted into the production of crops for use as inputs into alternative fuel production. Given the forthcoming review of the Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, this consideration ought to be examined as part of facilitating farmers who are in receipt of the decoupled single farm payment to venture into alternative farm-based enterprises. Research into bio-fuel production indicates high returns to the primary producer. Nor would it threaten food production, as the same crops can be processed for food prior to being utilised in fuel production.

There is also an argument in favour of producing and operating electric cars. The potential savings from replacing petrol are indicated by the fact that petrol imports cost in the region of €6 billion per year. Some people who have conducted research into this matter are convinced that having a direct input into the production of such vehicles could be possible.

Apart from the fact that replacing imported fuel with indigenous sources would have a considerable impact on our energy balance of payments, it could have a significant impact on the economy in general. The Government has recognised this potential in its proposal for NewERA and we will watch how that develops with interest, particularly given the question of whether the establishment of such a public company and its direct involvement in job creation would be tolerated by the IMF and EU in light of their insistence that the proceeds from sales of State assets - they should not be sold in the first place - be used instead to pay the bank debt.

The main benefit of large-scale alternative fuel production from native sources would be to create sustainable domestic employment and help to reduce our dependence on overseas direct investment, thereby strengthening the economy overall. It has been estimated by the Spirit of Ireland group, which has conducted extensive research in the energy sector, that an indigenous energy economy could create more than 80,000 jobs. In the current climate, surely this is something worth striving for, particularly as it would be based on our own natural resources and would return to us a significant level of control over our economic destiny.

I hope that the Bill can form part of an overall debate on the energy sector and that the Government's plan to tackle fuel poverty goes beyond the measures and restrictions that have been indicated to date.

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