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

I welcome the Minister's statement that we must get together to discuss this matter. Many people with enthusiasm for, knowledge of and interest in this issue must be included urgently. If we do not believe that industrial, large-scale wind farms are the answer, we must develop alternatives. We need that debate quickly. I am convinced that the industrial wind farm model does not give the best value for money and is not the best way to reduce carbon emissions. Although it needs to be investigated, biomass appears to be a better option in the long term and more appropriate for this country, in that we are capable of growing trees at a fast rate and have a great deal of land on which to do so. For example, Coillte has 500,000 acres of land with which it is doing nothing. We could utilise that land to develop alternative forms of renewable energy.

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