Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

Let us be honest about them. I could take the Senator on a tour of west Limerick along roads which are in poor condition. Some have been improved but we must remember the sale of the century in 1977 when road tax was abolished and a nominal registration fee introduced. That is what happened and the people bought it; the person with a Honda 50 motorcycle went out to vote for Fianna Fáil at the time on the basis of that promise. The reality, however, is that motor tax has increased excessively during the years since.

What happened to the emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol to which we signed up? This is a serious issue for the Department of the Environment and Local Government to grapple with. What has happened to the projections for 2007? It is projected that we will take 2 million tonnes of fossil fuels out of the equation and in doing so increase wind energy consumption from the current level of 145 kw to 475 kw. While I am in favour of wind energy and other such developments, I am predicting that those targets will not be achieved because the Department has not delivered a coherent policy for local authorities to promote wind energy.

A deputation is meeting the Department tomorrow to discuss its concerns about areas designated by Dúchas to protect hen harriers. If those areas are designated special areas of conservation because of the EU natural habitats directive, the more meaningful locations for wind turbines will be taken out of the equation. If a wind turbine was located on top of Carrantuohil, one might get away with it but in most cases objections will be raised to wind turbines in other locations. That is the reason the Department, in conjunction with local authorities' development plans, should be earmarking various locations in each county which would be suitable for wind energy projects. In that way we could do away with the culture whereby most projects are objected to that impinge on residential amenities.