Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister. I am not an expert on bio-fuels but a group of us on the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body examined energy issues and the opportunities that are there for Ireland which is so dependent on new ideas for enterprise and employment. There is great potential to retain and create jobs in the agriculture and energy industries through the green agenda. Toyota is having difficulty with new technology in the Prius car. Such new hybrid cars and the drive for new ideas in the car industry is counteracted by small glitches that have nothing to do with the technology. In the case of the Prius, I heard someone earlier say the issue was a sensitive brake pad as opposed to anything structural in the car. It is not a vote of no confidence in the new technologies. It is important for us to keep saying this to give people the confidence to think about the new alternatives and try to ensure they are moving to cars that are more sustainable in environmental terms.

A few years ago we were up at Gilliland's farm in Derry, a place I have driven past and been driven past since I was tiny. My grandfather lived about 200 yards across from that farm. However, it took a committee visit of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly for me to realise exactly what was happening there. Human effluent is taken from Derry City Council, or the wider region, and injected into the soil to grow willow and miscanthus. To be there physically and watch is interesting because one would assume the process involved smells and so on. The young willows absorb the effluent and grow very high, around nine feet in a year, after which they are cut down and the plants begin to grow more like bamboo. Thus, one can see them evolving into the material that will become woodchip pellets. When I left the place after an hour and a half, I considered the process. The willow, which is a very slight plant, goes through the process of this field versus that field and is then taken into the barn, in which the energy to power the house and the visitors' centre is generated.

The point that was made by the experts at that meeting, when we asked how we could persuade people to move away from oil, peat and coal to energy sources such as wood pellets, was that it was not very economical. If there is no market one cannot sell to the market. In the absence of a critical mass, costs are high. However, I welcome the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Brendan Smith, of a new bioenergy scheme under which grants would be available for the planting of willow and miscanthus over the period 2010 to 2012. There was a scheme in 2007 which supported 2,500 hectares. It is welcome that we are now in a position to put another thousand hectares under the scheme in 2010. The establishment grant is €1,300 per hectare to cover 50% of the cost of establishing the crops.

The message we got when we went to Gilliland's was that this was the only way forward. The area needs help and subvention. However, a constant learning curve is also required. We keep saying that schools are the places where everyone will learn everything. However, we must continue to make people aware that there are new ways of doing things and new opportunities.

There was talk recently about the development of wind energy. Nobody knows better than the Minister that there is plenty of air — and hot air — in County Donegal. We heard the recent announcement about Killybegs. From the moment the group concerned came together with the concept of pairing windmills with reservoirs — the windmills will have reservoirs for storing electricity — many people have been coming to me asking how they can get planning permission for windmills. Some people like them and some do not; there are those who do not mind them on land and those who would rather have them out at sea.

There are people in my area, of whom I am one, who objected to the concept of developing the Tunes Plateau as a wind farm at the time it was suggested, although the project seems to have gone to Neverland. If it arrives on the Minister's desk, which it probably will not because even though the Foyle is under joint jurisdiction it seems the Crown Estate can do what it wants when it comes to giving out leases, I ask him to remember that there are other good locations. We do not need to stick any windmill into the middle of the Foyle. I asked what would happen to the greatest salmon fishery in Europe if it was allowed to proceed and I was told the smolts could have great sport swimming around the bases of the windmills. There is many a true word spoken in jest, but although the people concerned thought it was funny, very few of us thought it was funny at the time.

There are many people who are interested in driving change and we should be encouraging them. A large conglomerate of interests have met with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, as well as many members of our parliamentary party, in this regard. We should be doing as much as we can to support them. However, the question is raised of the current status of the grid. We are trying to drive new thinking in the area of bioenergy. A person might come to me saying he or she intends to build a new house with a wood pellet boiler and avail of the supports available, but there is also a river beside the house and he or she wishes to set up a mini-hydroelectric facility. However, when one asks how this can be connected to the grid and whether credits can be given to the householder, the situation is unclear.

We considered this at the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly. Ireland is an island, but there are two different jurisdictions from an energy point of view. The electricity interconnector might go North to South in some respects but more needs to happen. We need a single grid or two mutually compatible grids. My understanding is that the two grids are currently not compatible. I was led to believe, in addition, that there was a strong need for an upgrade of the national grid so it can adapt to the new opportunities that are presenting themselves and that people are more than happy to take up.

Education is important if we are to persuade people to buy into this. The Bill before us is about obligations, which are seen by many as a negative concept. Until it is explained to people that renewable energy is ultimately in their economic interest as well as the interest of the environment, they will not be convinced. It is important that we provide as many facilities as possible as quickly as possible. An example is the idea of the electric car, which is no longer new. If I were in Dublin I would probably consider it on the basis that I would not be travelling many miles, but people from my region do not have a train service — there is no reason we could not have a Dublin-Derry train service because the line is there — and we need our cars. We must have confidence that if we leave Donegal to go to Dublin in our electric cars, there will be four or five recharging points in case we need them. We must know our electric cars have the same capacity as a diesel or petrol-driven car.

I wish the Minister well in his endeavour. As I said, there are good employment opportunities involved in making the country more economical and more environmentally friendly. There are many people who want to rise to the challenge. It is a question of awareness. The people who are becoming aware are energised and excited about the issue. I hope we can spread that excitement and enthusiasm around the country.