Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

I support Senator O'Toole's comments about wind energy. The Government made a commitment to meet over 13% of our energy needs by wind power, which is classified as "green energy", by 2010. There has been much discussion about wind energy but enthusiastic promoters of it who are prepared to enter the business at considerable expense face prohibitive charges when trying to gain access to the national grid. I outlined my concerns in this regard to the energy regulator yesterday. We need a serious debate on this subject because there is a considerable amount of confused thinking about what is feasible, even within Government circles and relevant bodies. We should offer much more encouragement to those who wish to enter the wind energy business rather than impede them.