Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "Seanad Eireann" and substitute the following:

"welcomes the recent publication of the Green Paper: Towards a Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland, its foundation on three pillars — security of supply, environmental sustainability and economic competitiveness — and its commitment to secure 30% of electricity supply from renewable sources by 2020 and to improve energy efficiency by 20% over the same period;

acknowledges that the "House of Tomorrow" grant scheme, operated by Sustainable Energy Ireland, has been effective in encouraging private builders and local authorities to build housing schemes incorporating renewable energy systems;

is delighted with the response to the Government's "Greener Homes" grants for the installation of renewable energy systems in individual dwellings, which has attracted almost 8,000 grant applications since the grants were introduced in March 2006;

welcomes the progressive increase in building code energy conservation standards — in 1998, 2003 and 2006 — and supports the Government's commitment to further increase these standards in 2008;

welcomes the recent publication of a review of the national climate change strategy, looks forward to the preparation of a revised strategy, and notes the synergies between climate change and energy policy as exemplified in the Green Paper's focus on the sustainability of energy supply;

notes that the current strategy made a commitment to significantly increase insulation standards in two phases — in 2002 and 2005; and that Government surpassed this deadline by introducing the stricter standard in a single step in 2003;

congratulates the Government for its prompt action in implementing the EU energy performance of buildings directive, starting with the building energy rating of new dwellings from 1 January 2007; and

endorses the performance-based approach in the building regulations, which facilitates a choice of building materials, products and systems by designers and builders provided they comply with standards; and underpins competitiveness in the construction sector".

I welcome this debate, which is a natural follow-on from our earlier discussion on the Green Paper, Towards A Sustainable Energy Future for Ireland. One of the issues mentioned in that discussion was the Government's Greener Homes grants for the installation of renewable energy systems in individual dwellings. The Department has received almost 8,000 grant applications since the scheme was introduced in March 2006. At present, grants are only payable for wood pellet and wood chip systems but it would be useful if they were made available for other alternative systems, such as heat pumps, windmills and so forth. It was pointed out that it can be difficult to get wood pellets and wood chip in some parts of the country. I know of one company which produces such products in north Galway but availability is not uniform throughout the country. This should be investigated further because it is important that people have access to the raw materials which come under the scheme being promoted.

With regard to the Green Paper itself, the Minister made reference to economic competitiveness, the sustainability of the environment and our commitment to secure 30% of electricity from renewable sources by 2020. The overriding issue of concern, however, is that of energy efficiency and the Minister has set a target of 20%, to be achieved over the same period. Security of supply is also important and is of particular concern to older people in winter.

Climate change was raised in the context of our discussion on the proposed ban on drift net fishing. We now see exotic species of fish off our coast, which is a clear indication that the climate is changing. We must deal with this issue in the context of the global environment. An important element of any discussion on energy efficiency is the question of saving money, both in households and businesses. However, by cutting down on our energy use, we also fulfil our international obligations with regard to greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change is a major global environmental issue. Our membership of the European Union and the international community obliges us to respond to global climate change in a co-ordinated way. While we have taken small steps to date, we would all like to see more progress towards the 2020 targets, to which I referred earlier. Ireland must be to the fore in continuing to make gradual improvements in the response to climate change. We are participating in the EU emission trading system and are taking all necessary measures to ensure that Ireland meets its climate change commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.

Significant progress has been made since the national climate change strategy was adopted in 2000. That strategy is now being reviewed and a more ambitious one will be put in place by the end of the year. This will assist Ireland in reaching the Kyoto targets set down for the period 2008 to 2012.

Since 1997, a huge range of policies spread across many Departments and agencies have been implemented by the Government. Most recently, a bio-energy ministerial task force has been established to drive an ambitious programme of climate change measures. I hope some of these measures adopted by the Government will be successful.

I wish to comment on the hollow block construction referred to by Senator O'Toole. I am not that familiar with such hollow block construction in Galway or rural Ireland. It is mostly in Dublin that hollow block construction is used.