Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am asking the Taoiseach how he proposes to respond to the people calling for that robust analysis and for these projects to be put on hold until there has been a cost-benefit analysis of the environmental and economic gain and to ensure protection of communities and public participation in these debates. The Taoiseach has not as yet convinced anybody that he is taking this matter seriously or that there is even joined up thinking in terms of the mix of renewables we need to develop.

Many people are saying that we should not be focused on only one area and that a mix of renewables is needed. What consideration is being given to hydro, geothermal, wave, current and solar energy? How this mix will be used and who will control it? Will this be done at local level by communities or by large industrial corporations, including multinationals and so on? These are serious questions and people are not being given answers they can believe. The Taoiseach and the sub-committee have a responsibility to come up with a plan for a national informed debate on renewable energy and the protection and development of our natural resources.

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