Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

I join with other Members in welcoming the Minister of State to the House and wish him well in his renewed interest in this field. All Members are pleased he has returned to this area of responsibility and look forward to working with him in the future.

I welcome the opportunity to make some points in respect of this issue. Although I am significantly younger than Senator Quinn, being from the west of Ireland I remember a time when power outages were a regular feature of the winter. While candles may have been a great novelty for a young child, this was a fact of life. Although progress has been made, as far as the west of Ireland is concerned it has not been to the desired extent. I will return to this point later.

We face an enormous challenge. When people think of renewable energy, they think automatically of climate change. While this is an extremely important issue, we could induce the public to engage in the manner desired by Senator Quinn and other Members if we focus more on security of supply and highlight the dangers in that regard to people. Senator Kenneally can probably remember the time when a consultant appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. While he may have been scaremongering, he produced statistics which suggested that something in the order of 50 years' worth of oil supplies and 70 years' worth of gas supplies remain in the world. I very much hope that is not the case but it is a serious wake-up call. Nevertheless, given the increased development throughout the world, it is a major concern that supplies of oil, on which everyone is dependent, and gas are limited. If the focus was placed on this issue, people would embrace the need to develop renewable resources going forward.

I commend the Department and the Government on the steps they have taken to achieve a renewable energy target of 13.2% of overall electricity consumption by 2010 but they have not been aggressive enough. The bar should be raised in this regard. While many wind farms have been established, it is disgraceful that many more await connection. Even though representatives of the ESB and the energy regulator have appeared before the joint committee, I am still not clear on why they cannot be connected. Bord na Móna, a semi-State body, has plans for the largest wind farm in the State but it is also having difficulty getting connected. I would like the Minister of State to put his energies into resolving that issue. There is significant potential in the west to develop wind energy. Four or five of my constituents are awaiting a grid connection but I do not understand what is the problem and I would like to get to the bottom of it as quickly as possible.

The renewable energy target should be increased because there is no shortage of wind in Ireland. We could be net contributors to a European grid, as Senator Kenneally stated. Research and development regarding the storage of such energy will be important. If a way can be found to store the energy generated by wind, it would represent a serious step forward and we would have no concerns if that were achieved.

The potential of the ocean should also be harnessed. I do not know whether tidal energy is practical but energy generated by waves has potential. The Department has set a target of 6 MW to be generated by wave energy between now and 2020, which is ridiculously low. A more significant amount should be targeted because this resource is not being harnessed. To achieve a higher target, we need to focus on how to bring such energy ashore. Moneypoint on the Shannon Estuary is the only plant in the west that could harness wave energy. Perhaps a plant in the north west, preferably Sligo, should be considered.

The e-tenders website called for a feasibility study on bringing gas to the north west, which I found confusing, because I recall the former Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise, Deputy Jacob, announcing that gas would be supplied to the region. In the context of the national spatial strategy and the national development plan, is the study a formality? Can the north west look forward to the security of supply enjoyed by other parts of the State? When can I look forward to the Bord Gáis Éireann transmission system reaching the north west, thereby giving me the option of using natural gas? Following meetings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, there appeared to be a lack of willingness on the part of BGE to extend the gas transmission system to Sligo and Donegal. Its representatives stated that under the Gas Acts, they had a commercial mandate, which prohibited them from doing so. Given the former Minister of State's announcement, will the new Minister of State confirm it will happen and that the feasibility study is confirmation that the Government is planing to take matters forward apace?