Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is deas a bheith ar ais anseo i Seomra na Dála. I welcome this Bill because it brings up to date legislation that is far too old and irrelevant to where our island is at today. Deputy Berry's comments were very true. I suspect he and I might have the same source in terms of how big our island actually is, apart from the bit we can see. This Bill is a step in the right direction in terms of putting the legislative framework in place. It could, however, be more ambitious. I am also concerned that the various provisions around community and community-led initiatives will, in fact, result in developer-led activity. It intrigues me that there is even a difference between community-led projects and community benefit funds. There should be just one community benefit and it should be community-driven and community-owned, as opposed to owned by those who seek to develop it.

I note the marine planning policy statements and marine area consent system and the various aspects of those provisions. They reflect a major change in planning legislation, particularly for the coastal communities concerned. It would be beneficial for the Department not to wait until the legislation is passed but to engage now in an information campaign on what this will mean for communities. I come from a county where communities and community spirit were destroyed because of the bad handling of an energy project. I do not want to see any community in my county or anywhere else go through that again.

There needs to be greater engagement with fishing communities on the Bill and its consequences. Our fishing industry is in a very dark place at this time and these changes are adding to their concerns and causing stress. Atlantic coastal communities have the most to gain from the legislation but they also have the most to pay. The Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, has just come into the Chamber. I am sure he had something to do with the decision to locate the new agency, MARA, in Wexford. MARA needs to have a very active and visible presence on the west coast, where the bulk of this development will happen and the bulk of the advantage to Ireland Inc, for want of a better phrase, lies. Communities must be partners in this legislation. If not, the legislation and the new planning system will not work and we will not be able to get the benefits, not just for our economy but for our environment.

Deputy Naughten's proposal regarding the Western Development Commission is worth pursuing. The commission is an organisation with enormous potential. With the proper support and investment, the western investment fund could be key to enabling this legislation to make a real difference and to equipping communities to involve themselves in some of the benefits of offshore wind and alternative energies. Other projects will come under this system. It is not just about alternative and renewable energy; it is about tourism projects along rivers and coasts, which are areas that planning has choked for a long time pending the enactment of this legislation. An active engagement with the Western Development Commission is important. There also must be an engagement with the Atlantic Economic Corridor organisation. If the Atlantic Economic Corridor project and the rebalancing of our country's economy away from the east coast are to mean anything, this legislation and its potential are crucial. Unless there is engagement, we will not see any of the benefits of it.

There are other issues that are crucial to consider. I think the Minister of State will agree that the issue of coastal erosion is not being properly dealt with, either by central or local government. It would be worth his while to see how many local authorities have not drawn down funding to deal with coastal erosion because they do not have the ability to meet the co-funding requirements. Our coast is eroding in front of our eyes. As we move into the winter season, there are beaches, dunes and cliffs there today that will not be there next year. If we are to have proper maritime area planning, coastal erosion must be taken seriously by both Government and local authorities. We cannot just assume it is an inevitable consequence without engaging with local authorities and communities in defending our coasts and coastal localities.

The theory and ambition behind this Bill and behind much of the work of moving to renewable energy is excellent.

We all sign up to it, but ambition is lacking. I constantly hear that from organisations and companies that want to engage with the State. For instance, we aim to have many targets in renewable energy as a country, yet we are dragging our feet and have to be dragged kicking and screaming. Hydrogen is an example one of those areas. I fear that much of the benefits of this Bill will also be wasted because the reality and ambition do not match the rhetoric or our alternative and renewable energy policy. This legislation, welcome as it is, is an opportunity to match the ambition and to match what we do with the rhetoric and do what people say. Otherwise, the legislation will be just another document on a shelf.

Communities, local authorities and private enterprise the length and breadth of the Atlantic coast want to do this. They want to engage with the Department and with private and community enterprise to maximise the power of the Atlantic, as I am sure do communities in the south east and on the east coast. They need the Department, the organisation and MARA to have the ambition that they have. They need MARA to have the flexibility and the desire to work with them on these plans. The Minister should not allow this Bill to make the mistakes that were made previously in developing our renewable resources. He should not allow this Bill and the powers it gives to alienate communities from their own resources and energy. He must allow them to get the economic and social benefits of the Bill. Otherwise, we are wasting our time here.

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