Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement. I welcome the publication of the annual transition statement for 2020. It is 18 months late, but it is still a very useful piece of evidence and information. Given it is the last one, I also welcome the opportunity to contribute in this regard.

In my limited time, my comments will focus on the concept of energy security, or, more accurately, that of energy independence, which is a bit more of an ambitious goal and something we should aim for. We all recognise what is happening in Ukraine now. Putin's strategy is clear. He wants to wait for about four months and the arrival of winter in the northern hemisphere. He wants to squeeze the northern hemisphere as much as possible from an energy cost and energy supply point of view. Anything we can do between now and then will certainly improve our resilience and ensure the EU stays united to face down the aggression in Ukraine from Russia.

In the context of offshore wind energy, I welcome the recent developments in respect of MARA being established, the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 having been enacted last December and planning permission having been granted for the interconnector between Cork and Brittany. Those are all good things, but they are all just plans. People need to see action. As things stand, there are only seven wind turbines off our coasts. Most people are in favour of offshore wind generation. In phase 1 of the Arklow Bank development there are only seven wind turbines and those have been there for 20 years. There is potential for 4,000 wind turbines off the east and west coasts. Those would be tethered off the east coast and floating off the west coast. We have a great opportunity here not only to improve our own resilience but also to ensure that the EU is resilient from an energy security and energy independence perspective.

Other Deputies mentioned the importance of farming. This country is already feeding the world. We may as well power the world too while we are at it. If we think back to what our grandparents did, they electrified the land with the establishment of the national grid. It falls to our generation now to electrify the sea. We must increase our ambition and accelerate our implementation regarding offshore wind generation.

Turning to solar power, I welcome the recent development, in April, of the Minister going to Ashford in Wicklow to open the solar power farm there. It is a good development. Every residential housing estate in the country, however, has the potential to be its own solar farm. It is very much the case because there is a great deal of south-facing roof space on every housing estate and this would also be a great source of income for residents' committees to allow them to maintain and fund the upkeep of those estates. It is a good goal to aim for.

Moving to my questions, in theory, a rebate or a tariff paid will be paid to domestic solar panel users who have surplus energy and sell it back to the grid. I am aware of the tariff, but has an individual domestic supplier been paid yet in this regard? Has money changed hands? We also know that the tariffs were established approximately six months ago but there has been a massive explosion in energy costs, particularly concerning electricity, since then and in the past three months especially. Will there be a concurrent increase in the tariff that the energy companies will pay to domestic suppliers as a result? We cannot have a situation where the large suppliers are paying X amount per kilowatt hour, kWh, while domestic producers are getting a fraction of that price. What is good for the goose is good for the gander and there should be a similar kWh price for the supplier and the user.

Coming from Kildare, which is a commuter county, along with Laois and Offaly, I welcome the 20% reduction in the pricing of public transport in the past few months. This is a good thing. The Minister of State holds a portfolio not only at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, but also at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. I would support any measure in the budget in October that would put further downward pressure on the cost of public transport.

In summary then, I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I agree with many of the plans, but we need to see implementation. We have no time to lose. The sooner we do this, the better.

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