Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State and I congratulate him on his appointment. I wish him well in his new brief, which he has taken up at an important time. Energy provision is at crisis point. IBEC's recent report outlined its concerns about Ireland's production methods and its dependency on oil importation. I support Senator MacSharry regarding energy availability. Nothing is being done to harness the potential of alternative energy sources to offset the impending crisis.

Last year, Ireland experienced 57 amber alerts, the most serious of which occurred on 13 December. A number of areas were close to blackout because of the inadequacy of the electricity supply. The Department has had ample warning but what will change this year? A new gas power plant has been commissioned at Tynagh, Loughrea, County Galway, near my home and it will enter production over the next month. It is being tested currently. The plant has a back-up system if the gas supply is interrupted but it is dependent on oil.

Gama is an 80% shareholder in the plant. At the energy regulator's insistence, a contract was entered into for the production of energy, under which Gama is guaranteed payment on the basis of the plant operating at 100% capacity for ten years, even though usage at any given time may be as low as 40% or 50%. Consumers will have to pay for electricity that has not been generated or supplied, which is a rip-off. Will the Minister of State provide a copy of the contract? The role of the independent regulator, Mr. Reeves, must be queried. The consequences of this arrangement are serious, especially given the dominance of the ESB and the fact that the independent regulator was a former employee of that body. There is evidence of a preference to subsidiaries of the ESB in the area of access to the national grid, particularly with regard to wind energy, as Senator MacSharry observed.

There are many people, along the west coast in particular, who have spent significant sums of money in an effort to secure access to the national grid. These are not major developers but ordinary farmers and landowners who have joined together, in pursuit of an alternative income, to form co-operatives seeking the necessary planning permission. They have had to contend with all the objections that arise, such as those relating to the impact on visual amenities, the displacement of wildlife and so on. The lifetime of their planning is coming to an end but there is no indication their efforts will be rewarded by the granting of access.

One calls to mind the observation of Shakespeare's protagonist in "Hamlet" that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark". The Minister of State, who is newly appointed to the Department, must investigate the area of access to the national grid. There is something rotten in what is going on and what has happened in recent times. The so-called "independence" of the regulator is questionable; I must put that word in inverted commas.

Will the Minister of State also investigate the terms of the contract awarded to Gama and say why it is necessary to guarantee payment on the basis of 100% capacity when the demand is far less? This is a terrible situation and the burden of it falls on the consumer. There has been a 100% increase in the price of gas and a 60% increase in the price of electricity in the last several years. Where will it stop if we allow our current levels of dependence to continue? Three major energy companies do not wish to do business here because they can see there is no real competition. A cosy cartel is in operation. The onus is on the Minister of State to ensure this is broken up in the interest of securing a guarantee of reasonably priced energy to consumers and industry.

Some 300,000 jobs have been lost over a period of time primarily because of increasing energy costs. Can we allow this to continue? Who is responsible if it does? It is a pity that legislation passed by the Oireachtas in the past has given such control to the regulator. On various occasions in the other House, the Minister has refused to reply to questions because he says it is no longer his responsibility. It is incumbent on him to take responsibility in this area in order to safeguard a continuity of supply.

We must take notice when an organisation such as IBEC strongly highlights the difficulties that may arise in terms of the continuation of energy supply. The Minister of State mentioned the doubts in regard to gas supply in the future. Other European countries were on red alert as a result of the Ukrainian interruption some weeks ago. We depend extensively on gas but there was no response or alert from either Government, Minister or regulator to that crisis. This is something that must be urgently rectified if we are to have a continuation of supply.

Will the Minister of State immediately examine the situation with regard to the granting of access to the national grid for those ready to roll if only they got the opportunity? Will he convey to me, at his earliest convenience, the terms of the contract with Gama and why it is that such preferential treatment is given to this company, which is an 80% shareholder in the plant at Tynagh? We must discover who controls the other 20%. Who is involved in Gama? Are there others under the umbrella of Gama who are investing in this and will take a quick cut of the profits?