James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We heard about the Paris accord from the past few speakers and I acknowledge as well the Buswell's briefing. I was delighted to join representatives of Trócaire a week or so ago when they presented to invited Deputies the organisation's plans to tackle climate change. It is great to see an Irish non-governmental organisation taking a leadership role in such a challenge, and particularly Trócaire which made its name in fighting hunger and providing more traditional Third World aid. I salute the organisation and congratulate it on the initiative.

I intend to touch on three headings relating to climate change: energy, transport and home heating or insulation. We have seen a significant focus on energy and a disproportionate focus on some aspects of renewable energy. There has been little mention of transport and insulation or home heating in Government policies and targets. My understanding is that in terms of the renewable energy directive, there is a target of 40% from renewable energy sources for electricity, 10% in transport and 12% for heating. We have not made any progress on the 22% assigned to transport and heat and we do not appear to be moving in the right direction.

There is a disproportionate focus on some forms of renewable energy, particularly wind. There are multiple different renewable energy formats, including wind, biomass, solar, tidal, offshore wind, etc. In this country to date, we appear to have focused almost exclusively in the renewable energy sector on wind, particularly "big wind". This refers specifically to developer-driven industrial scale wind farms. These are evident in my own constituency of Kildare North, Meath, in the west and right across the country. They have been very controversial and divided communities. There are many concerns about their efficiency. Some of the concerns arise from the concept of a spinning reserve. When one has an industrial scale wind farm, a fossil fuel powerplant is still required to spin the wheel if the wind stops blowing and there is no power to move the wheel. There are also the thousands of tonnes of concrete used in erecting these turbines, not to mention the roads that must be widened and improved to allow passage in and out for the turbines. These are massive local concerns. Wind has a place as part of a mixed basket of renewable energy sources but overly emphasising big wind in a developer-driven way is a serious concern not least in north Kildare, but also on a national level.

The guidelines we have seen are a concern. We in this House, in the industry and anybody with an interest in the issue would realise these guidelines are well out of date. That has been acknowledged. Technology advances rapidly and with anything to do with engineering, science or technology, we must move with the times and ensure that regulation is at the same level as technology. Moore's law in the 1960s predicted the advent of the microprocessor and Intel uses it to this day to move forward; such is the way with technology. Unfortunately, our guidelines have not moved and several years on, there are apparently guidelines sitting on a Minister's desk waiting to be signed. They have been there for at least two years, if not more. This continues to promote debate and controversy. If the guidelines were at least implemented, it would give communities some succour and comfort that the issue is being taken seriously. Instead we appear to be determined to repeat the mistakes of the past and proceed with large-scale industrial developments in the absence of guidelines, even as we know them to be inadequate. That is a serious concern.

The home heating and insulation element has a target of a 12% saving in energy for the climate change targets for 2020. We appear to have taken few steps in that direction. At some events, including the Trócaire event I attended recently, I asked the panel what single step could be taken to address climate change challenges and the immediate answer was "insulation". It is simple and does not get the same degree of attention as the renewable energy sector and other elements, but it is a powerful method to address immediately some of our climate change challenges. We should immediately bring in a retrofit programme for insulation and finance it by means of grant aid. We should go further and examine the form of energy in use in the home. If we shifted from oil to natural gas, it would be a significant step. We should do this by supporting the expansion of the natural gas network throughout the country. The home heating grants for gas connections for estates and other residential schemes should be advanced and the heating method should also be supported by a natural gas for home heating public awareness process and advertising.

Under the renewable energy supply directive, 10% of renewable energy is to come from the transport sector by 2020. This target allows the inclusion of transport energy from a variety of renewable energy sources. In Ireland, as elsewhere, it is likely that biodiesel will be the strongest contributor to the target. As part of reaching the 20% target, we must also support electric vehicle usage. The Government has pursued a grant model to encourage usage of such vehicles but that has not worked. As a result, a target of 10% of vehicles using such technology by 2020 is patently some way off; only 0.2% of vehicles are currently electric, so it seems it will be extremely difficult to make the 10% target by 2020 at this rate. The ESB decision to begin charging electric vehicle users for charging points is a retrograde step and has the potential to disrupt a burgeoning market. By applying a flat rate charge to users, fuel economy is a significantly less attractive argument.

My party, Fianna Fáil, has proposed a number of measures to encourage the switch to electric cars, which we believe will lead to a critical mass of consumers switching to electric by 2020 if implemented now. These include a roll-out of infrastructure to all towns and intercity routes, making it easier for people to use it. If people know this infrastructure is available as they set out on journeys, it is far more likely they will become familiar with it and more inclined to use it. They can, therefore, make the transition to purchasing an electric car. We could make the ESB fast charge points free to access for all users, supply a purchase grant for electric vehicles and instigate a moratorium in which we would charge no motor tax or road tolls on electric vehicles for five years. These would be significant steps in advancing electric vehicle ownership.

There is also a need to raise awareness of the benefits of electric vehicles. There is a very low awareness of these and perhaps there is even some concern or confusion in this regard, particularly relating to fuel economy and the nature of usage of electric cars. There is a need to have information campaigns and bumping towards the 10% target requires immediate action. Electric cars comprise 0.05% of car sales so the target is very challenging to say the least. Cost competitiveness for such vehicles should be considered. Rolling out charging infrastructure across the major routes would require over 7,000 charging points around the country. I have mentioned making the fast charge point free to access for all users and VAT and motor tax rebates should be extended.

Lip service has been paid to electrifying the public transport fleet but in reality very little, if anything, has been done. Dublin Bus recently ordered a supply of new vehicles, and it is to be welcomed that public transport is expanding. However, diesel vehicles have again been procured. That is caused by institutional inertia and it is not the fault of the purchasing manager in Dublin Bus; rather, it is the fault of the Government for failing to incentivise and communicate the targets to such bodies in a timely fashion. The next Minister should ensure that any funding for a new fleet should at least target a percentage of electric vehicles among any new purchases. The National Transport Authority has a role to play here too.

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