Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

The Senator should let people sort out their own agendas.

This is something the Department should examine. It should carry out a survey to see what support can be given to the owners of these mills to provide the necessary turbines to produce energy for the locality. That would be a positive step forward in a difficult time in which we need to maximise energy production. Millions of gallons of water flow through fast-flowing rivers, including the River Suck, and not one electricity unit is generated from it. The Minister should be more proactive and, where necessary, he should use the power of the State by compulsorily purchasing mills if the owners are not prepared to utilise this wasted energy when we need it so badly.