Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Taoiseach as ucht an fhreagra i leith cúrsaí fuinnimh agus an coiste comhordaithe a bheidh ag casadh le chéile. Obviously, one of the items that has been raised by the Draghi report on competitiveness is the need for the EU and Ireland to maintain a focus on competitiveness. Does the Taoiseach agree that pursuing an energy policy that prioritises an abundance and an even more plentiful supply and that takes advantage of our uniquely available national assets and our geographic location, will drive that agenda forward, providing a more plentiful and abundant energy supply? As part of that, hopefully the Cabinet committee on energy will play a proactive role in driving forward that plentiful energy supply and removing any planning blockages that exist so that we can fully exploit the potential we have for maximising our renewable energy supply in this country. This is key not only to garnering and protecting our competitiveness but is also fundamental to providing a cheaper energy supply that, in turn, will deliver better living standards for our people. Part of that is equipping the planning system to make sure it has the critical skills in place to ensure there are no logjams where we do want to exploit a more plentiful energy supply. The Government must take a proactive role to make sure that micro-level considerations are not necessarily trumped by the macro-level objectives that we need to have to achieve that more abundant supply.

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