Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

——for the Minister and his officials. It belongs to all of us who are trying to do something about the concerns on energy.

I am one of the many people around the country who have embraced wind energy technology. Many people who are enthusiastic about the possibilities in this area and who have sought to advance private wind energy developments have met with disappointment due to the bureaucracy that appears to retard such developments. In many cases these people have paid substantial money upfront to the ESB in order to connect them to the national grid at some future date. That future date causes me some concern because there appears to be many impediments to getting connected to the national grid. This is probably due to the monopoly situation that exists whereby if a company seeks access to the national grid, it must gain the consent of the ESB. If the Minister is serious about energy policy, he should ensure he expedites the process to connect wind energy operators, who have received approval, to the national grid. Much of the enthusiasm for such projects when they were launched has dissipated because of the ongoing delay.

We are all conscious of the increasing cost of oil and the corresponding increase in the cost of electricity. Liberalisation of the market has been a joke as far as the domestic consumer is concerned because when he or she receives a bill, he or she does not have the liberty to shop around for an alternative supplier. Successive Ministers have been cocooned by a regulator who has protected them. When there is odium among the public about increased costs, the regulator is blamed and it is deflected from the Minister. It has suited the powers that be, therefore, to appoint a series of regulators. The overall target for wind energy production should be increased and the impediments removed. I will hand over to Senator Bradford who will refer to biofuels.