Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that Solidarity-People Before Profit has introduced this Bill. We will support its passage to Committee Stage but it will have to contain extremely important provisions without which the entire Bill would be pointless. These are to set in motion the direct replacement to fossil fuels because if we do away with something, we have to replace it. It is completely immoral to refuse to use our own gas but to continue to use fossil fuels belonging to somebody else because we do not have replacement renewables. Without this in place we should use the natural resources we have to the benefit of people.

What is realistic in terms of fossil fuels? What precise renewable energy sources will be put in place? Without renewable energy sources, Sinn Féin believes we should have exploration for the benefit of the State and its citizens. The problems with fossil fuels have been outlined well during the debate. We can rehearse the problems being caused, including global warming, but we must have solutions. What sources of energy do we need to develop to complement the intermittent sources of wind and solar? They are intermittent but it is important to use them. What will be the place of biogas? Sinn Féin's policy is to grow that industry. I commend Sinn Féin's policy to the Minister of State and I have a copy for him to read. I hope the Government will take it on board.

We do not have micro-generation of electricity. We have rooftops all over the country on which there should be solar panels. A Bill on micro-generation was introduced here just before Christmas. It would be a useful start in developing it so that we could have real alternatives. We need to develop a wide variety of renewable sources, such as wind, solar, biogas, hydro, wave and tidal. Being against everything will not solve this. We must have solutions. What is needed is action on renewable energy.

What renewable energy sources have been put in place by parties in the House? I have a lot of respect for the Green Party in many ways but some of what it has put forward lacks credibility. For example, in September last year, Deputy Eamon Ryan, a former Minister with responsibility for energy, when opposing Sinn Féin's Bill to regulate - not stop - wind farm development stated, "We can turn to a mixture of wind and solar development, particularly offshore wind, and interconnection". This means interconnection with other countries. He also stated, "The better, cheaper back-up system is for us to connect with our neighbours".

When the wind stops blowing and the sun goes down, the solution is to rely on Britain, where gas, coal, nuclear power or whatever is necessary will be used to produce electricity for us. That is not all right. Will it be all right in the future, then, for us to drive electric cars, thinking we are ever so green? We should have electric cars. However, if the electricity comes from Britain, where it is generated by fossil fuels or nuclear power, it is not good enough. We cannot move the problem around in the same way as the abortion problem.

We should have connections with other states, including France. However, we must have a vision whereby we produce our own energy sources and become an exporter of renewable energy. We met many experts in the field who said that Ireland can become self-sufficient and become a net exporter using renewables. For this, however, we will need to determine exactly what sources we are going to use. The Government has been vague on this. Its solution is the national mitigation plan, which is heavy on aspirations but light on actions.

Sinn Féin has met representatives from all sectors of the industry, including the Electricity Supply Board, ESB, Trócaire, Stop Climate Chaos and Friends of the Earth. I welcome the fact that some of them are here in the Gallery today. We have done this in pursuit of a plan for the production of alternative sustainable sources of energy. We have been putting forward solid proposals that work in other countries. Ireland is way behind on this issue, as the Minister knows. It is a shameful fact that we are going to exceed by far our carbon emissions targets for 2020.

Energy production will not come from any single source. That is the message here. The replacement of fossil fuels will have to come from a very wide portfolio, using different technologies. However, electricity only accounts for part of our fossil fuel consumption. Transport represents 40% of the energy used in Ireland. What are we doing about that? We are very weak on public transport and public transport networks. We have to change that. Public transport needs to be properly planned and made more available. I refer again to electric cars. There are approximately 2,000 electric cars in the State, but there is no plan for the necessary infrastructure or charging system. It is in limbo. We need a way forward on the subject. When it comes to renewable energy, there has been a lack of vision, direction and action.

Apart from burning fossil fuels, we are intrinsically linked to the petrochemical industry in the western world, and that must change. It is vital that we look for solutions and alternatives, because petrochemicals are present in other everyday products such as plastics. We need to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels, which is hugely damaging for our environment. Such imports also cost nearly €5 billion a year. It is not just for the sake of the environment, self-sufficiency or reducing cost that we need to change. If these were not enough, we also are facing large fines. The great reason we should change is environmental. There are other reasons in between but we also are facing fines from 2020 onwards because we are absolutely failing to meet our obligations on greenhouse gas emission and renewable energy production. That cost will run into billions of euro.

I hope this Bill will open the debate and that we take it to Committee Stage. We want to amend it. We recognise the reality that we have to change. We must also recognise that we need those alternatives, and we in Sinn Féin want to accelerate them. We need to work harder at bringing those forward. We need to move away from polluting fossil fuels and this means creating a different economy, a sustainable economy.

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