James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First, I will respond if I may. It is important that some very valid points have been made by members of Government parties and, indeed, by the Opposition as well. I am giving my own perspective to the Government as somebody who lives on a dairy farm in the very heart of rural Ireland in the constituency of Cork East. There are significant worries about some aspects of what the Government is planning. It is important for us to address those issues.

I am also speaking from the perspective of a young person looking at what we need to do to adapt our economy to make our it more sustainable and promote more sustainable practices when it comes to things like energy generation. When it comes to a just transition, one particular point referencing agriculture is that I really feel we need to do more to address that issue.

I am very excited about the work has been undertaken in collaboration with the Attorney General around the reforms of the planning process. There is serious urgency around the need to adapt how energy is generated in Ireland from a security point of view, however, which we definitely will see as being a major problem later in this calendar year. I know the Minister has been doing work on that particular matter. It is also from the point of view of sustainable practices. I have a request of the Minister in his portfolio, through the funds he has made available. An important point is we need to put additional funding in place. When it comes to dairy farming in this country, which, may I say, is one sector I believe is under attack, those involved want to invest to a greater extent in more sustainable practices.

One key area is energy generation, and helping dairy farmers, in some degree or fashion, to become more climate friendly and adapt to change in our world.

Ireland is a world leader in food security and in 2023, one of the major focal points of work done by governments everywhere will involve ensuring that enough food is produced to feed the entire population of the world. Of course, the situation in Ukraine has exacerbated concerns about global food shortages. We need to ensure, therefore, that we are making prudent changes in areas that will not harm food production in this country while also addressing the challenges Deputy Bruton eloquently outlined in his contribution regarding the need to do what is right. As a young person, I fully agree with him, but when it comes to the finance that is available, we must help people in rural Ireland to adapt to that change. It is just too expensive for many of them to get rid of their diesel cars, for example, and purchase electric vehicles.

Another issue I have raised repeatedly with the Minister, of which I would like him to take note, relates to the need for a scheme to be put in place immediately such that a family that buys a diesel or petrol vehicle will know what is going to be in place to five or six years in order that they will have certainty to plan for that change. I live in the general Youghal area, a town of 8,000 people, yet I can count on one hand the electric vehicle points in the town.

This gives an idea of the change we need to undertake, and the Government needs to lead in this area. We need to lead by example, put the funding in place and work with local authorities. Energy security and energy generation is one area on which we are not doing enough. It is exciting to see the work undertaken by the Attorney General to reform the planning process, which will help us increase the level of renewable energy generated in Ireland. As somebody living in the south of the country, I know that there is significant economic opportunity for people working in agriculture who have suitable land to earn money from the generation of electricity. Approximately 50 acres of solar panels can generate almost €100,000 per annum, in some estimates. That gives an idea of what members of the agricultural community could make by investing in solar and renewable energy, and we need to do more work in that regard.

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