Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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56. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will outline all the processes and conditions surrounding the establishment and management of windfarms, both on and offshore, including required permissions, environmental stipulations, licensing, taxes, royalties and other benefits to the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27898/13]

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The development and operation of wind farms in Ireland require planning permission from the relevant planning authority and, in the case of offshore wind farms, a foreshore lease from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government.

They also require an authorisation to construct or reconstruct a generating station and a licence to generate from the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER. In addition, a grid connection from EirGrid or ESB Networks is required to become operational.

Planning and foreshore leasing are, in the first instance, matters between the developer of the wind farm and the planning authority subject to the Planning and Foreshore Acts, including the requirements for public consultation as specified in the legislation. In addition, best practice wind energy guidelines were published in 2006. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, in conjunction with my Department and other stakeholders, is undertaking a targeted review of certain aspects of the guidelines. This review will examine the manner in which they address key issues of community concern to ensure wind energy projects do not have negative impacts on local communities.

In addition, the 2012 Government policy statement on the strategic importance of transmission and other energy infrastructure, published by my Department, emphasises the importance of public and local community acceptance, adherence to national and international standards in designing and constructing energy networks and infrastructure, early consultation and engagement with local communities, and building community gain considerations into energy infrastructure planning and budgeting. Applications for authorisations to construct or reconstruct a generating station and for licences to generate are assessed by the CER ahead of granting or refusing the application. The conditions imposed in the authorisation and the licence must be met by the generator and compliance is monitored by the CER on an ongoing basis. In regard to grid connections, EirGrid and ESB Networks assess applications and make connection offers in line with the appropriate development and roll-out of grid infrastructure.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

In terms of benefits to the State, wind energy development has been the largest driver of growth in renewable energy. In fact, it will make the greatest contribution by far towards the achievement of the target for 2020 to meet 40% of electricity demand from renewable sources. Failure to achieve our overall renewable energy targets will result in compliance costs and emissions permit purchases. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has estimated that these could amount to some €100 million to €150 million per annum for each percentage point shortfall in renewable energy and a further €250 million in emissions permit purchases. With regard to taxation, the State benefits from the tax take on taxable profits generated by energy companies. Rates are also payable to local authorities and offshore wind energy project developers pay royalties of 2.5% of total revenue to the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government under the terms of foreshore leases.

Regarding the potential export opportunity, the memorandum of understanding on energy co-operation that the United Kingdom Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Mr. Edward Davey, and I signed on 24 January will result in the completion of a consideration of how Irish renewable energy resources, onshore and offshore, might be developed to the mutual benefit of the State and the United Kingdom. This will determine whether it is beneficial for both countries to enter into an intergovernmental agreement under the renewable energy directive to provide for renewable energy trading. The amount of energy to be procured by the United Kingdom and the mechanisms for sharing the resultant economic benefits, including an appropriate return to the Exchequer, are matters to be addressed over the course of this year and ahead of signing a potential intergovernmental agreement which would have to ensure no financial cost or risk to the State or Irish consumer.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I am strongly in favour of this country developing our renewable energy resources. It is vital that we meet, if not exceed, the target of 40% renewables production by 2020 in the context of the climate change crisis and the economic benefits arising from the development of indigenous energy sources. My concern, however, is whether the citizens of the State will reap the benefits of implementing that policy. We have heard about the proposed Dublin Array project which will see the construction of the second largest wind farm in the world 10 km off the Dublin coast and the controversial plans to install more than 1,000 wind turbines in the midlands to generate electricity not for this country but for the British grid. These proposals raise serious questions as to whether the regime we have in place will ensure the people will benefit from the development of our abundant wind resources. What tax regime will apply to these developments? Why is the ESB, for instance, not involved in the development of resources such as the Kish Bank? Have we examined international best practice in terms of proximity to the coastline where, for example, buffer zones of 22 km are observed by a number of the leading wind energy producers in Europe? What is the position in regard to royalty regimes? I am concerned that public consultation is not up to scratch. Some of us are of the view that there has been a giveaway of oil and gas, with no proper regime in place for the development of these resources. Will the Minister assure us that our wind resources will not be given away but will instead be developed to the benefit of the citizens of the State?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I remind Members that one minute is allowed for supplementary questions and replies.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I do not know where to start in answering the Deputy. I take him at face value when he says he is in favour of building up renewables capacity in the economy. In so far as that capacity is meeting domestic need, I assume it meets his approval, provided it complies with good building standards.

With regard to developing an export trade in this area, I appeal to the Deputy to stop using emotive language about our generating electricity for the Brits. If I were the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and came into the House to say I had got a new contract in Britain for beef, Deputy Boyd Barrett would not be railing against me for selling cattle to the Brits. I am completely confused as to why he rails against me for seeking to create the environment for, and to facilitate the emergence of, trade in an indigenous resource. In Ireland we can generate more energy than we need and will do so provided we can find a market for it. One cannot, broadly speaking, store electricity, so if one is going to generate more than one needs one has to be able to sell it to someone who does need it. Happily in these circumstances, the people of Britain do require renewable energy and we are in a position to sell it to them. As a principle I cannot for the life of me see why Deputy Boyd Barrett would want to interfere with that. We can talk about planning and all the rest, but in terms of the concept I would go home happy this evening if I felt I had persuaded Deputy Boyd Barrett that, for a tiny island economy, selling things to outsiders is a good idea.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The question is whether we will benefit from this. Of course we should sell energy if we have enough of our own, but in a situation in which we have very difficult targets to meet and must massively increase our domestic production of renewable energy, saying we should sell it to England before we have enough of it ourselves is a somewhat spurious argument. These issues need to be teased out.

In the midlands - and I am only asking the questions - serious issues arise with regard to proximity to people's homes. Are we looking at best practice for proximity to homes and to the coast in the case of the Dublin Array project? I have an open mind on these issues but I want to see best practice and proper public consultation and I want the Minister to say why there is a 22 km buffer zone for offshore wind energy in Germany, the Netherlands and other European states, while the UK and Denmark are also now considering bringing in a 22 km buffer. Crucially, I want to know what revenue we will get in the form of tax and royalties from the production of this energy. Will there be guaranteed security of supply to the domestic market? Will the energy produced go against our targets for the development of renewable energy or will they boost another country's targets if the energy producers decide to sell or mainly generate for other markets? These are serious questions that need to be answered. Before we can develop these resources, we need to be sure we will benefit from them and that they are being developed in an environmentally safe way.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I accept that there are serious questions and I can assure the Deputy that there is no question of our developing an export trade in this sector unless we are confident that our own targets will be met. I can assure the Deputy that is the case and I think I am correct in saying that technically the directive requires that we meet our domestic targets before we can engage in such export trade. This can be checked. The Deputy knows as well that, with regard to the 40% target, which he described as ambitious - which it is - there is a limit to how much wind the grid can take. We are a leader in that regard in Europe and the professional and technical competence of EirGrid is acknowledged. We have not yet agreed any royalties, taxes or anything else with the British Government.

I signed a memorandum of understanding with my UK counterpart, Mr. Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, in Dublin at the beginning of the year. Two teams are working on it to flush it out into a full-scale intergovernmental agreement. The Deputy is correct that if only the economics of it stack up, that it will become a reality. Of course, there has to be benefit to Ireland. If I were selling cattle to Britain, I would not propose to give them away.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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That was not my point.

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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I know a man who would give them away.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Absolutely, I know a bit about that.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Minister is giving away our oil and gas, however.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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No, I am not giving away our oil and gas. For the hundredth time since I got this job, can I point out to the Deputy that in the past four decades neither I nor any of my predecessors ever found any bloody oil to give away?

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Thank you, Minister.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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How can I give it away, if I do not have it? My car is leaking at the moment and I keep a pint of oil in the boot in case the red light comes on. That is all the oil that I am wasting or giving away.

I have to find the oil first. We are working on that too. I know that out in Dalkey I will have the Deputy's full support should a big gusher come at him down the main street.