Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

I support the motion moved by the Independent group. My colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Broughan, asked this week why the Government has not prepared the national energy efficiency plan as required by the EU. With only a few months for the Government left to run, will it bring forward an energy efficiency plan? If so, when? The Power of One advertising campaign is welcome but much more needs to be done to back it up. Our energy efficiency plan needs more concrete proposals. The Labour Party spokesperson on energy, Deputy Broughan, argues Ireland should follow the lead of the European Commissioner for Energy, Andris Piebalgs, who last week launched a 75 step programme in ten priority areas, including new energy performance standards for electrical appliances and buildings.

Deputy Broughan has also pointed out that most energy use is in the home. This year, house production is expected to peak at 90,000 units per year but no substantial measures are in place to ensure new houses are energy efficient. While I welcome the small energy efficiency programmes that have been introduced, little has been done for the bulk of new houses being built. These are the houses in which many families will live for 30 years. It is an opportune time to tackle the issue. Strong regulations on energy efficiency for new homes are needed and with which builders and developers must comply. They must also be enforced, supervised and inspected.

Yesterday The Examiner carried a supplement on energy efficiency in the home, highlighting grants available for solar panels and water pumps, etc. However, one article raised a concern that training for those installing energy efficiency appliances was insufficient. The article pointed out appliances could be improperly installed, leading to more inefficiency than efficiency and turning people off them. In turn, that may defeat the objective of the grants programme. If grants are provided for energy efficiency installations, proper guidelines must be in place for their installation.

One current requirement for energy efficient houses is that they are well insulated and draughts excluded. However, with many chemicals used in home cleaning products and the risk of radon gas in some locations, the health implications of such a requirement must be kept in mind. An energy efficiency policy must be comprehensive to take into account other aspects of living in a home, such as good ventilation.

What measures are in place for public buildings, including Leinster House, to be energy efficient? For example, is there any promotion for not leaving computer and other electrical appliances on stand-by in public offices?

More money needs to be devoted to research and development into energy efficiency. The main issue of this century will be about how we will secure future energy resources. Ireland could make a niche for itself in research and development in this area but, unfortunately, little is devoted to it.

Leo Corcoran and Brian Coyle in The Irish Times today question the decision on the location of the Corrib gas terminal. A similar article was recently published on An Taisce's website. Taking heed of these arguments, will the Government order a study from Advantica to identify the optimum location for the gas processing terminal? This was not done at the outset. There is still time for the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources to get this matter right. There is no point in going into this with tunnel vision because——