Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)

Last week when Senator Coffey called for a debate on how we could develop the green economy, he mentioned the excellent document, Developing the Green Economy in Ireland, which was produced by a high level study group and published last November. It contains many excellent suggestions, on which we need an urgent debate in order that Members opposite can familiarise themselves with the contents of report, on page 30 of which it is suggested, as Fine Gael has been suggesting for a number of months, that a single national water authority be set up. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy John Gormley, was bemused by this the last time the issue was mentioned in the House.

The document expresses a strong commitment to wind energy. I am working with a wind energy company based in Cork to help it to develop its business in the west. It tells me it has hit nothing but brick walls and that there is a lack of support from the Government in expanding the wind energy sector. One of the things to which it points is the major discrepancy between the way wind energy producers are treated here and across the Border in Northern Ireland. For example, in this country there is little or no guarantee about the price one will receive for the energy produced. In the United Kingdom, from 1 April, producers will be guaranteed 41p for every unit of energy produced, even if it is used in the producer's house or business. There is no such commitment in Ireland. A commitment given to offer a certain price was reneged on a few months later. In the United Kingdom one pays VAT at a rate of 5% on the purchase of a wind turbine, whereas in this country one pays at a rate of 21%. If the Government is serious about supporting alternative energy projects, it needs to take these issues on board. I look forward to a debate on the green economy very soon.