Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail)

If the various car manufacturers were encouraged to make available a wider range of hybrid cars, the public could be incentivised to buy them if VRT on them was waived. This is the type of innovative approach that must be employed to get the public to engage with renewable energy.

While the greener homes schemes are great on paper, it is very Irish that we cannot get wood pellets from domestic sources for wood-burning boilers. With Coillte felling vast acreages of forest, why can Enterprise Ireland not offer grants to go into this industry? All new build or major refurbishment projects must incorporate green energy improvements, be it solar panelling or wood pellet boilers. We need to push the boat out on this as future generations will not thank us for a superficial approach.

The Minister and the Department have made great strides in this area. However, we need to set the bar that little bit higher. The Bill will take us that step further to achieving the target date of July 2007 for an all-island energy market. I am pleased that the Bill provides for ministerial direction in energy policy. Other Departments, when drawing up legislation, can learn from this. All too often it is the commission, the board, the regulator, the council or whatever which decide matters rather than those elected by the people.