Feargal Quinn (Independent)

The Minister of State is very welcome. I read this Bill, not knowing exactly what it contained. It makes considerable sense to transfer the powers from where they reside. I was delighted to hear the Minister of State speak about aquaculture and the shellfish sector. I had experience of this industry years ago when Bord Iascaigh Mhara asked me to be one of three judges in a competition to find the best oyster in Ireland. There were 24 oysters to be opened, tested for cleanliness and so on and eaten. There were three judges and we each ate 24 oysters. Unfortunately, there was a tie and we then had to eat six more to decide which was best. When I got home for dinner that evening, I was fortunate that my wife did not give me something similar to eat. I mention this because of the importance of the foreshore, from the point of view of exports. Almost all of the oysters from the oyster farms in that competition were exported the following day, mainly to France.

One of the main benefits of the Bill is that it will help to boost the wind power industry, of which Senator Dan Boyle has just spoken. It will move responsibility for both planning permission and the foreshore licence to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which Department is said to be in a position to streamline and quicken the Government's renewable and wind energy policies.

The European Investment Bank announced on Monday that it would provide up to £700 million for new loans to eligible onshore wind farms in the United Kingdom. The remainder will be matched by a number of banks: RBS, Lloyds Banking Group and BNP Paribas Fortis. The scheme is supported by the UK Treasury and UK Department of Energy and Climate Change. This project could enable approximately £1.4 billion of onshore wind energy projects to move to construction in the next three years. Are similar negotiations being undertaken to receive similar loans for Ireland from the European Investment Bank?

Earlier this year the Royal Dutch Shell, rated the largest corporation in the world by Fortune magazine in 2009, announced that it would no longer invest in renewable energy projects such as wind, solar and hydro power projects because they were not economic. Three years ago I was asked what business I would go into if I were starting out now. I replied that I would become involved in the renewable energy sector. I now find that the biggest companies in the world are stating it is not economic. Does the Minister think this is a strong indication that investment in wind energy projects is futile, especially in the short term? I do not believe it is but it appears that a number of wind energy projects, in Ireland and elsewhere, are no longer going ahead. I, therefore, have a concern. From where I live in Howth I can see the seven wind turbines off the coast of County Wicklow. They seem to be working all the time. However, it appears we have not moved in the direction we should have for renewable energy projects. Is this a planning matter? Is it something we can do something about? If renewable energy technologies are not economical, can we do something to enable us to make them so?

On the wider issue of planning, we all know how planning applications for large projects can be held up by an individual objector. In a number of cases the individual holding up the construction of, say, a wind farm does not even live in the area in question. This is one of the major reasons incinerators have never been introduced, even though many experts say they are much needed.

I was very impressed when I learned that a new body had been set up in the United Kingdom last month called the Infrastructure Planning Commission, IPC. It is an independent body which will assume responsibility for planning nationally important projects from March 2010. It is hoped decisions which used to take years will take just months or even weeks. It also means that inputs from the public will be more limited. That may sound undemocratic but perhaps we have gone too far the other way and too many objections are causing delays in pursuing worthy projects. It is hoped the new planning system will help to build much needed projects such as new airports, roads, incinerators and sewage plants. A planned high speed rail line connecting London with Scotland could also be initiated. The United Kingdom is also pressing ahead with numerous proposals focused on energy, including schemes for wind farms, power lines, gas pipelines and clean coal projects, thanks to the new planning system.

What is most interesting is the plan to replace many of the United Kingdom's old nuclear power plants with new ones in order to help cut the country's emissions of greenhouse gases. The companies which will be contracted to build these new nuclear power plants have made it clear they will not tolerate delays in planning. It is a real worry that the power plants will not be completed on time, as it is estimated that electricity supply in the United Kingdom could begin to fall short of demand as soon as 2015 and the new nuclear plants will not be in operation until 2017. This idea was summed up by the UK Secretary of State, Mr. Ed Milliband, when he said, "We are not going to be able to deliver a 21st century energy system with a 20th century planning system".

It is time we looked at our own planning system in this regard and had a real debate on nuclear power. I have tabled a motion on the subject and hope the Seanad will have a discussion on it. I am not sure it is right but the refusal even to discuss the subject is dangerous. Professor Colm Kenny of Dublin City University said during the week, "The Republic of Ireland already buys nuclear and other energy from Britain via the underwater Moyle interconnector to Scotland". The new connector to Wales is expected to begin operation by 2012. There is no way of knowing exactly how much of the electricity from Britain which Ireland already uses is generated at nuclear power plants. With Ireland buying electricity from Britain, as we are at present, it is not easy for Government Ministers to raise strong objections to Britain's new nuclear power plant expansion.

James Lovelock, former chief scientist for NASA and the person who discovered the hole in the ozone layer, believes that in the short term, "Only nuclear power can now halt global warming". He argues that we "should regard nuclear energy as something that could be available from new power stations in five years and could see us through the troubled times ahead when the climate changes and there are shortages of food and fuel and major demographic changes". That is not to mention the fact that nuclear energy would free Ireland and Europe from dependence on middle eastern or Russian oil.

I am using this debate as an opportunity to make sure we give consideration at least to debating the subject of nuclear power. Last year a number of senior Green Party members in Britain changed their attitude to nuclear power. They now believe it is not only safe but also environmentally acceptable because no fossil fuels are used in its production and it is the only way to achieve greenhouse gas emissions targets in the years ahead. We need to move into the 21st century and have a proper debate on nuclear power and the issue of planning major projects in this country. This legislation will help us to move in that direction. Therefore, I encourage its passage. The Minister of State has taken the right step, although we have a long way to go to achieve what we must achieve.