Brendan Daly (Fianna Fail)

I support the Bill and pay tribute to the ESB for its foresight and imagination in dealing with energy supply since its foundation. From the development of the plant at Ardnacrusha to that at Moneypoint, it has given a deep commitment to ensuring that the energy requirements of the country are adequately provided. It has also offered imaginative and forward-looking proposals and kept abreast of international developments in energy generation and electricity supply. I compliment it on its work at Moneypoint where up to 400 people are directly or indirectly employed providing a substantial proportion of the energy supply for the country.

The ESB has recently received approval from An Bord Pleanála to undertake a €200 million investment to clean up the emissions and bring it into line with international emission requirements. The board will decide before the end of June on proceeding with that development and I urge the Minister to use whatever influence he can with the ESB to ensure that it proceeds with this investment as planned. This would ensure not only that the station continued to meet international emissions standards but will also help the Government decide in 2008 whether Moneypoint should continue as it is or be re-equipped to use natural gas. Many people, locally, nationally and internationally, believe there is a great opportunity to exploit the potential of clean coal technology, which has been promoted very vigorously by the governments of France and Germany. This would utilise the large reserves of coal for energy generation at a time when energy supplies are tightening. Otherwise, we might be tempted to use our natural gas grid to generate electricity, which would be a waste of very valuable resources. We could continue to use Moneypoint, the most efficient energy generating station in the country and probably in Europe, as a centre for generating electricity from coal burning which has been very efficiently done elsewhere.

To close Moneypoint would damage the economy of the region. I urge the ESB to proceed with the €200 million investment cleared by An Bord Pleanála. The proposal came before An Bord Pleanála because An Taisce objected to the permission granted by the county council. An Bord Pleanála's report indicated that An Taisce's objections had no merit and were based on a misunderstanding of the role of the planning authorities and the overall policy issues which are matters for Government. An Taisce's decision to lodge objections to that decision, which was intended to protect the environment, has undermined the confidence of many in my constituency in the role of An Taisce and is one of the main reasons for the present negative public perception of An Taisce. I have supported An Taisce although I have had many confrontations with it especially, for example, over the proposed heritage centre at Mullaghmore. In this instance, however, its objections had no merit. The report also found that it had misunderstood its own function and role. It is essential to proceed with the investment which will go ahead in June if the board of the ESB approves. The work will take from 2005 to 2007 and will be completed before the Government decides in 2008 on the future of Moneypoint. The future of the plant is critical for the reasons I have outlined, especially for the development here and bringing into effect a clean coal technology regime so that we can ensure the long-term survival of coal generating at Moneypoint

While the ESB has always been keenly aware of its importance in the economic and social development of the western areas, it is worth reminding it that its record has been one of very proud achievement especially in the context of the rural electrification scheme. I welcome the recent decision to modernise the rural network, especially along the western seaboard because in recent years there have been serious breakdowns and it is necessary to invest heavily in modernisation and fitting new transformers and lines in areas that have been underdeveloped and where demand for more and better supply increases daily. The consistent breakdown in the system is due to lack of investment. The ESB's decision is welcome and steps are already being taken to modernise and upgrade the network in the rural areas especially west Clare, north Kerry and the west. This is an important decision and a very valuable and timely opportunity. Some of the funding we are allocating and endorsing today will be available to upgrade and modernise the system to enable a continuous supply in the western areas.

I have had a long association with the ESB in some previous work, especially in the fisheries area and to an extent I am disappointed that the fisheries dimension of the board's activities has been played down in recent years. Since the inauguration of the Ardnacrusha plant and its involvement in the Shannon fisheries, it has played a major role in scientific research and developing the fishery aspect of its remit, for which the legislation provides. The emphasis recently has shifted from that and I hope that we could count on the ESB, in whatever new regime emerges, to again take the pioneering role in exploitation of fishery resources where it has hydro stations. It has made a very valuable contribution to investment in places such as Castleconnell whose salmon fisheries are internationally recognised and are a major tourist attraction. Some might ask what this has to do with the generation of electricity, but it has everything to do with the social and economic development of which the ESB has always taken account.

I appreciate the work of the board and the co-operation it has given us at all levels. I have had many opportunities to talk to people in Moneypoint and in the ESB generally about various issues and always found them to be forthcoming and forthright in business where it maintains a very high standard. I am glad that in its magazine, which is delivered to us regularly here, we can see a record of the work the board is doing not only in areas such as Moneypoint and the hydrotechnical engineering but also its social dimension which is so important. The rural dimension was critical to the overall development of rural areas. I hope that dimension and Moneypoint will continue for the foreseeable future; the Government should recall the importance of that station and will consider clean coal technology to keep it going bearing in mind its economic impact on places such as west Clare and its social impact on more remote rural areas.