Rónán Mullen (Independent)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I have remained in the House for many of the contributions on this debate and I read the Minister's speech, although I am sorry I was not able to be present when he was speaking. I found it a fascinating discussion and the issue is an important one.

I must confess I was scared by what Senator Quinn had to say. It seems there are no easy solutions in this world, even when one is trying to do good. Undoubtedly, the creation of a domestic bio-fuel industry is a desirable objective. The creation of this obligation will help us to move down that route. As I listened to Senator Quinn, I was glad that a man of integrity and someone from the Green Party was leading the Bill through the House. I do not doubt that the Minister takes seriously his commitments in terms of the need to protect the environment, source energy resources and work towards energy security. He also cares about global solidarity and would be careful in considering any possible unintended consequences. I will comment further in this respect. Senator Quinn's speech was stimulating. To some extent, most Senators must trust the Government in an area such as this, as it has research resources at its disposal to ensure unintended consequences are avoided, inasmuch as Ireland, a small country, can have an influence on the world stage.

My song writing talent was set in motion as I reflected on the strange acronym NORA, National Oil Reserves Agency. I thought of my late grandfather who used to sing the song "Nora", also known as "Maggie". I remembered one verse. in particular: "The violets were scenting the woods Nora, displaying their charms to the bees". It would be sad were that verse to end with the line, "But the woods were all cut down for biomass Nora, causing environmental degradation and food scarcity". As the Minister can see, I will not win any prizes for song writing, but this is the moral consideration raised by Senator Quinn, namely, that there could be unintended consequences in terms of environmental degradation, no net carbon emissions benefits, food scarcity and damage to indigenous populations. The Minister will answer these concerns in his summation.

I am happy to support the Bill which is a long overdue step in beginning to create a market for bio-fuels. If produced in a sustainable manner, bio-fuels have a role to play in reducing our dependence on fossil fuels, increasing our fuel security and, last but far from least, providing an income for farm families and employment opportunities for rural communities. This is not simply a matter of fashionable economic policy. Since the dawn of agriculture, farmers have grown crops to produce not only food, but also fuel and clothing from flax to cotton. The use of crops to power our transport systems is not new. The horse and humble donkey were powered by crops grown in Ireland for centuries. In this sense, we are reverting to a pre-fossil fuel age.

We all know that Ireland's current fuel use is unsustainable in the long term and highly risky in the short to medium term. We import almost €6 billion worth of fossil fuels a year. We are the last link in the long gas pipeline that brings gas from Siberia to Santry. Our use of fuel grew dramatically during the boom and transport accounts for a significant and ever increasing proportion of overall energy use. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, fuel consumption accounted for 27.8% of energy use in 1990 and rose to over 40% in 2005. The transport sector is dependent on fossil fuels. The 99% consumption ratio has been mentioned. According to the EPA, this has resultant impacts on the security of fuel supplies and exposure to oil price fluctuations. When we consider all of these matters, there is a powerful case to be made. CO

We must act to enhance Ireland's energy security, reduce our dependence on carbon emitting fossil fuels and move towards a sustainable future. I fully agree with the Minister that our forests and farms can help to provide the fuel of the future, reducing our carbon emissions at the same time. However, the Bill on its own will not achieve that objective. It will help to create a market but, without urgent action, that market will be supplied not by Irish produced bio-fuels but by imported stocks. Senator Quinn also raised this point. The benefits to the economy would be marginal at best. We should note that this has already occurred in the case of a similar scheme in the United Kingdom. According to the Irish Bioenergy Association, the scheme led to the importation of 89% of the bio-fuels used in the United Kingdom.

Importing bio-fuels means any benefit from reduced carbon emissions in Ireland would necessarily be negated by the increased carbon footprint generated in transporting the bio-fuels half way across the world. To quote my father, I am cutting stubbles, if the House will pardon the agricultural metaphor, in revisiting points raised by others. The importation of bio-fuels would do little or nothing to enhance Ireland's energy security. If the seas are unsafe for oil tankers, they would be no safer for bio-fuel tankers.

Having raised these caveats, I have no major problem with the Bill. I support it fully, as I do a mandatory obligation to create a market for bio-fuels. However, unless the Government also puts in place measures to encourage a significant increase in the production of domestic bio-fuels, the Bill will fail in its policy objectives. I am not considering the woodlands quoted in the song "Nora" so much as I am the significant areas of land not properly farmed or used. The hope is we could develop an indigenous source of bio-fuel in these areas.

The question will arise as to whether the Government has engaged in sufficient joined-up thinking and action, if the House will excuse these hackneyed phrases, to achieve what is required. We live on an island with one of the best climates in the world for producing biomass. We have strong competitive advantages in the production of winter wheat, trees and grass. The question is whether we will have a Government with the imagination and the will to focus not just on the PR dimension of the issues but to create a real bio-fuels industry.

Let me give an example of joined-up thinking. We know that hundreds of millions of euro are being pumped into research to convert cellulose into bio-fuels. Most experts agree that we should see a breakthrough to a commercial solution within the next five to ten years or so. Why not take steps now to encourage the large-scale production of willow and miscanthus-elephant grass in the midlands for burning in the area's power plants? In doing so, we would create critical mass — pardon the awful pun — of growers and supply such that when a commercial process is developed to convert the cellulose in miscanthus and willow to biodiesel, we would be ready to make the leap towards a new domestic fuel for transport.

If we are to have a sustainable bio-fuels sector, action will be required at European level to ensure the European Union's commitment to tackling climate change does not result in ecological and human devastation in poorer areas of the planet. I trust the Minister and his civil servants to think globally. I am not convinced that the measures contained in the Bill to ensure the sourcing of sustainable bio-fuels are enforceable. Ireland is so small as a market that we will have little impact on the global market. I hope our national tradition of solidarity with the developing world will influence European policy. The European Union is impressive as the greatest donor of overseas aid, but we need to ensure our vision permeates EU consideration of these measures in order that we can shape the world market to the point where it is sustainable and ecologically beneficial through united action.

Mar fhocal scoir, ba mhór an íoróin í agus ba mhór scanall é dá dtugfadh muid faoi cheist an fhuinneamh ghlan agus ghlas gan a chinntiú nach dtiocfadh sin salach ar na daoine is boichte ar domhan. Dá ndéanfaí damáiste don timpeallacht go háitiúil nó dá ndéanfaí damáiste do foinsí beatha, ba mhór an éagóir é sin. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine. Is fíor sin ar an leibhéal domhanda chomh maith le ar an leibhéal áitiúil.