Dan Boyle (Green Party)

Mirror image politics are evident in tonight's motion and the Opposition's amendment to it. For a Government to congratulate itself and for an Opposition to immediately condemn it does not help debate in general, whatever of the particular item for discussion. I will come to the issue of whether the Government has a right to congratulate itself but I must admit that the first two Opposition contributions were nowhere near as churlish as I had expected, given the tone of the amendment. The Opposition has recognised the scale of the problem, the existence of best practice and the need to adopt a better approach, though the amendment could have been better worded. As to whether the Government has a right to congratulate itself, it is slightly churlish not to recognise that there has been a substantial policy change and that developments are occurring on a regular basis. We must put these changes into place. Having put the initial policy positions in place, we have set in motion a framework that, if adopted, will see further initiatives followed and the potential that exists being realised in a few years.

We may be over-consumed by the question of renewable energy because there must first be a proper understanding. I heard the other contributors speak of public education and awareness programmes on the use of energy. On foot of the discussion on the economy that we have already had today, it is worth noting that Ireland is a very wasteful nation. We produce more energy than we need and while we may ask questions on how we source this energy there are harder questions we should ask and have answered on why energy is being produced to be used in wasteful ways. We all have a contribution to make to that debate in terms of electricity generation, distribution and use and the use of energy in transport and industry. Only part of the answer lies in awareness programmes and the onus is on the Government to create appropriate incentives. There has been an attempt to start this process through the greener homes schemes, the insulation scheme, which is still in pilot phase but will be rolled out to the rest of the country, and through other initiatives like the element in this year's Finance Act that encourages industries to seek tax relief on energy saving equipment. We need to put this new type of thinking in place to encourage new behaviour throughout the country.

The substance of this motion relates to renewable energy and it will probably be repeated regularly this evening that Ireland is one of the most energy dependent countries in the world. Some 90% of our energy needs are met by imported fossil fuels and at this stage in the world's history the very existence of those fuels has a determined and finite time frame. It is not a matter of using fossil fuels better; we must find and use different sources of energy.

Ireland has huge potential and if a legitimate political criticism can be made it is that we are facing up to this problem far too late and we need to catch up quickly. Ireland has a huge capacity to achieve the generation of electricity through wind but it meets only 5% of its energy needs through this source. Denmark, a country of a similar population and a smaller land mass, meets 25% of its needs this way. Because we were so late to join the field opportunities in research and development and the building and selling of technology are an economic cost we have paid. However, they can be an opportunity in future if we start getting our act together now and I believe policies are in place to make the most of this.

The resource that is the sea provides even greater potential in terms of renewable energy through tidal power and wave power. These are developing technologies. If Ireland masters them we can sell them to a wider world, as countries like Germany and Denmark did with wind technology and the equipment that accompanies it, such as wind turbines, in a way we did not in the past.

Things will not happen overnight but we should acknowledge the work being done in Strangford Lough by the ESB between the two jurisdictions of the Republic and Northern Ireland. Work is also being done by individual companies on the west coast of Ireland, particularly on wave energy. The technology of wave energy can operate on different levels. Portugal received a great deal of European Union assistance that Ireland missed out on and built on cliff faces large concrete edifices that are not particularly environmentally sensitive. Irish technology is concentrated on buoys that measure waves either as they hit them or as they move up and down with tidal power. This creates energy. A Cork-based company is testing in Galway Bay and has moved up from a quarter-sized to a full-sized model. The success of the full-sized model could lead to a buoy farm in the middle of the ocean and this, if successful, could meet at least half of our energy needs, as outlined in the current national energy plan. These are the types of opportunities Government energy policy is creating through incentives.

We need to tackle these problems on two levels. One relates to big-picture items such as the successful negotiation by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, of the ESB's 20 year plan. This will see €22 billion invested in our electricity system and €11 billion invested in renewable energies and it is one of the successes of the new Government policies. It goes a long way towards validating the motion put down this evening.

It is more important to accept individual responsibility for the use and generation of electricity. The measures put in place, including incentive schemes and changes to the planning regulations will allow one to use solar panels, stand-alone wind turbines and geothermal technology readily without having to go through a fully-fledged planning process. This represents a Government initiative and a positive policy change. It justifies what is stated in the amendment.

If one wanted to make a legitimate political criticism, one would say it is not that there is nothing being done but that what is being done is not being done well enough. The problem remains that there are too few initiatives. To achieve what we need to achieve, we need to continue going down the road we are on and to expand the sector very quickly and broadly. I hope the debates on this issue will be in this context. Future energy requirements are such that whoever is in Government will not be able to govern effectively or meet the needs of citizens unless we secure energy independence, which is lacking at present and which we must work so hard to achieve.