Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

To echo some remarks made earlier, we have had 16 of the 17 warmest years on record since 2000 and we routinely break records on drought, rainfall and so on. While this global crisis happens, despite the increase in renewable energy, more CO2 is being emitted. It is terrifying when climate scientists suggest that the earth's ability to absorb carbon in its natural sinks is getting less and less. We have passed the 1°Celsiusincrease in average global temperatures, we are well on our way to an increase of 1.5°Celsius. If we burn the proved reserves of fossil fuels that global corporations have in reserve of coal, oil and gas, we will push global temperatures to 5°Celsius, 6°Celsiusor 7°Celsiusover pre-industrial levels. This will be a historic moment of extinction on the planet. We are well on the road to that today.

I welcome this Bill. Any measure that pushes this state into taking seriously the question of renewable energy has to be welcomed. It is unfortunate that Deputy Eamon Ryan will oppose the Bill when there is always the possibility of amending it by allowing it to go through to Committee Stage.

I was shocked when a few days after the summer recess began, the Minister, Deputy Naughten, announced that he had issued exploration licences for the Porcupine Basin, a huge area off the south-west coast which has much greater reserves of gas and oil than are present in Corrib. In recent days, Ervia, the mother company which looks after Irish Water and the distribution of gas, released a report which indicated that Ireland's gas reserves are very healthy and have probably never been healthier. The Minister whose remit covers the environment and climate change seems to think that it is okay to issue exploration licences for what is potentially the extraction of a huge amount of gas and oil from the Porcupine Basin in coming years when all the advice from scientists across the globe is that it should be left in the earth. We have huge reserves of carbon and fossil fuel. Our problem is the more of it we burn, the more we threaten the environment and the planet. Like others in this House, I take great interest in renewable energy and the role which solar and wind energy can play. I find it difficult to understand why we are failing to unveil or roll out projects that would be popular in this country to deliver carbon neutral energy.

I agree with other speakers that this would be a no-brainer and a win-win for Ireland's industrial prospects. Let us compare ourselves with Germany, for example. In Germany the minimum distance allowed for a wind turbine from any home is twice what we allow, at 1,000 m. In other countries across Europe, particularly in northern Europe, there has been huge investment in offshore wind turbines. The distances they allow for are considerably beyond what we allow for here from the shore, for the shore's protection. They allow for 22 km or 12 nautical miles from the shore. We do not allow anything near that.

One explanation for why there is always such opposition to windmills and wind power in this country is not that the people of the midlands or north Meath are so parochial and NIMBYist that they do not want to see renewables, but they are worried about their regulation and how they are introduced. There is no democratic debate with local communities and no buy-in for local communities because most, if not all, of these projects are owned, run and have vested interests invested in them by global corporations. The reliance on the market means that these companies will profit hugely from wind turbines. Local people are not thick. They recognise that and so there is no buy-in for their lives being hugely discommoded and their environment affected.

I want to see the regulations proposed in the Sinn Féin Bill being discussed and examined seriously by the Government as they have the potential to offset concerns among local people. The investment in offshore wind must be looked at in a serious way. That means massive State investment to end our dependence on fossil fuels. It also means employing high standards in how we do this or else we will meet with increasing opposition from people. We must recognise that it should not be all about generating profit for multinationals. There must be a greater role for the local population in developing an alternative to fossil fuel.

We support this Bill for wind energy and understand the importance of providing energy for this country. Deputy Ryan said he disagrees with section 2 of the Bill which states:

the Minister shall, in determining whether such product is excess product, have regard to whether the product generated from wind turbines and other forms of renewable resources is of an amount that is greater than the amount of energy needed for the island of Ireland to be deemed self-sufficient in the generation and consumption of electrical power...

However, it is possible to amend this Bill to ensure that the energy generated is shared with our neighbours and the wider EU.

We support this Bill and more generally we will adopt more guidelines that work in other countries. We do so supporting the idea of massive investment in renewables, led by communities and supported by the State and not left to the vagaries of the market and those who seek to maximise their profits but with the interests of the environment and the future of the planet and its people at its heart.

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