Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)

I thank the Minister of State for being here but I have to start by saying the tradition of Topical Issues being dealt with by the appropriate Departments and Ministers needs to come back. It is not fair on the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin. She is not in that Department. It is a retrograde step that any time there are Topical Issues here, the chances of having a Minister from the Department are few. There are three Ministers in this Department and not one of them could be here in front of the House. I do not think it is right.

I raise the issue of biogas plant across Ireland. We have a commitment with regard to 5.7 TWh of production by 2030. I was at a public meeting in Ballymackey outside Nenagh recently with other public representatives, and the idea of putting an industrial-scale plant into a small location like that, where you have to stop on the road to let another car pass, is absolutely bananas. It does not have the infrastructure for it.

I actually believe in these renewables and in this whole technology but given that we are going to have between 200 and 250 of these plants all over the country, we have to start asking serious questions about why we have not got regulations on this before we start doing it. Why have we not got planning guidelines on these before we start doing them? It is absolutely incredible that in 2025, we do not have planning guidelines or regulations regarding this technology, which we need. However, we also need to ensure communities understand and have rules around which they can engage on where these plants are going to be put in place, and that is not happening.

With regard to a number of these plants, whether they are currently economically viable is very questionable. The locations where some of these plants have been proposed are being fought across the country because there is a lack of public and community engagement. I have been a local TD and public representative of various strands for the last 20 years. The developer of this industrial plant just outside Nenagh, where I am from, never came near me. He may have gone to other Deputies but he did not come near me. The community has not been engaged with in any way, shape or form that is worth talking about.

We really need to look at how we are going to ensure there is a system in place for the regulation and planning of these. We also need to look at the economic modelling of them; what tariff is going to be in place; how many of them we need; how much they should be spread geographically with regard to our agricultural production across the country; where are they needed more than other places; what types of locations they should be in; or whether they should be urban or rural, on the edges of towns, out in small and isolated areas. We also need to look at the whole issue of regulation as regards European law, the water framework directive and the nitrates directive; how health and safety will come in here; and the role of the EPA, and the fact that the EPA does not have the regulatory powers with regard to this area either. We also need to look at the whole issue of food production and how this will impact food production into the future.

This needs a mapping plan. It also needs a regulatory plan and planning guidelines. None of this is in place. I have no doubt, as the Minister of State represents a rural area, that it will come to her home as well. Communities up and down the country are basically saying they respect that these technologies are needed and that we have targets to get as a country. However, let us not put the cart before the horse. Let us put in place the regulations, planning framework and the totality of what is required here on a national level, and then we move. At this moment in time, it is impossible for communities to actually do that.

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