Martin Brady (Fianna Fail)

I am very happy to second the motion. I welcome the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I have great admiration for the man because every time I hear him in a radio interview he has his facts and I heard him discussing this issue recently. Nobody is ever able to nail him on anything; he always has his facts right. In politics one never knows what tomorrow will bring but I wish him well. He is doing a great job so far.

The renewable energy directive has placed a requirement on all member states for 10% of the energy used in transport to be from renewable sources by 2020. Bio-fuels have a central role to play in the delivery of this target as one of the few available and effective means of reducing emissions from transport, with developing technology and electrical vehicles. This morning I heard a debate about electrical vehicles which is creating spin-off industries as people are going into business because they believe electrical vehicles are too quiet and cannot be heard. Perhaps the Minister has a comment to make on this aspect. Somebody is in the process of developing various sounds for electrical vehicles.

Following the success of the scheme, a second and more ambitious scheme was announced in the 2006 budget. Scheme II will run until the end of 2010 and is valued at over €200 million in excise forgone. The scheme set out four categories of bio-fuel. A total of 102 applications were received under the scheme, including 11 applications in the bio-ethanol category. I understand that as the scheme was oversubscribed, a number of applications were not facilitated. Perhaps the Minister can comment on that issue.

The Government White Paper on energy policy commits to the introduction of a bio-fuel obligation which will underpin the delivery of national bio-fuel targets and take account of EU developments. Farmers are being encouraged to grow bio-fuels such as rape seed on unutilised land. I recently spoke with farmers on this matter while attending an IFA meeting at the Davenport Hotel. Farmers will not grow a crop if it is not profitable, no more than I would open a furniture shop tomorrow if I could not sell furniture. What incentives will be offered to farmers who grow bio-fuels? Farmers are on their knees at present and there is no way they will enter a business which might be loss making.

A number of member states have introduced bio-fuel obligations. For example, the UK introduced a renewable transport fuels obligation in April 2008. Why do public transport companies and State bodies such as the Army and An Post continue to use diesel rather than renewable energy sources to fuel their fleets?

The National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, is responsible for ensuring that Ireland complies with its EU and international requirements for emergency oil supplies. The agency is funded by a levy on mineral fuel collected from oil suppliers. It also enters into contracts with oil suppliers for the purposes of leasing oil storage. On that basis, it was deemed that NORA - I do not mean the song - was by far the most appropriate administrator for the bio-fuel obligation.

Farmers have also made the argument that we will experience food shortages within the next 20 years if we do not utilise the land for food production. We should not be speaking about pie in the sky because farmers will not grow bio-fuel crops if they are not profitable. The Minister is doing an excellent job and I am confident that anything he tackles will work out successfully.