Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

I congratulate Deputy Nulty on his maiden speech in the Dáil and wish him well. No doubt he will be here for many years.

I thank the Deputies for their contributions to the debate today and yesterday. The debate was very constructive and well put together. Regardless of one's political party, it is clear that when legislation is in the common good, people sign up to it in terms of examining its pluses and minuses in an objective and clear way. It is clear from the debate that there is general support throughout the House for the Bill and the principles contained therein. The number of Deputies who contributed to the debate demonstrates the importance and relevance of energy issues.

A number of Deputies raised the issues of security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability. I reiterate that the overriding objectives of Irish energy policy remain security of supply, competitiveness and sustainability. These are general objectives and they resonate well with EU energy policy objectives.

We are heavily dependent on gas for electricity generation. This reliance is set to remain for some time as gas is the fuel of choice while we build our renewable capacity. I was interested in the comments made on renewable energy by the many Deputies who spoke, particularly with regard to County Mayo, which has the highest wind speeds in Europe and needs connectivity to the grid to build on that energy.

On competitiveness, analysis by the SEAI shows convergence in Irish electricity and gas prices towards the EU average. The Government is firmly committed to increasing competition as the best means of exerting downward pressure on gas and electricity prices.

I note the general welcome for the energy efficiency proposals. These provisions are already provided for in secondary legislation. By restating them in primary legislation, we will ensure the legislation is more robust. This legislation will be important in regard to delivering on our targets for energy efficiency. However, as the Minister remarked earlier in the debate, the tenor of the draft EU energy efficiency directive currently being negotiated will mean even more stringent targets for our energy suppliers of 1.5% savings per annum. This will require a significant ramping up in activity and the better energy programme is a necessary first step towards achieving the type of savings we need in the long term. The Minister will publish a new national energy efficiency action plan in the coming weeks. This will set out the key measures which we will take across key sectors of the economy to deliver on our challenging European targets.

The support of Members of the House for the provisions of the Bill is most welcome. We look forward to early consideration of the Bill on Committee Stage. I advise the House that the Minister proposes on Committee Stage to introduce a number of amendments. In this regard, amendments will be proposed to the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007 with regard to time limits set out in that Act, and amendments will be introduced to facilitate co-operation and the provision of information by oil companies in respect of oil contingency planning. We also propose to introduce amendments to provide for the winding up of a number of non-trading statutory BGE subsidiaries. I ask members of the select sub-committee to table their proposed amendments as quickly as possible to allow full and fair consideration to be given to them. All amendments tabled by Deputies will be considered with an open mind. The overall objective is to progress the Bill to the Statute Book as quickly as possible, and I look forward to constructive engagement with Deputies and Senators in this regard.

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