John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I will not repeat the arguments that have been made by Senators Norris, Walsh and O'Reilly. They have raised the specific issues relating to Green Biofuels Ireland in New Ross and proposed a mechanism by which the difficulty can be resolved. I would like to hear the Minister's response to that proposition.

I spoke at length during the first debate on Committee Stage of the legislation and documents from Ethanol Ireland and this company in New Ross have been circulated, to which Senator Walsh has referred. They outline some of the difficulties with the current position. I do not see a reason for a division in the House as it is often the case that the Government cannot accept Opposition amendments because they may not have been drafted correctly, etc. I do not see why a Government amendment could not be made on Report Stage to encapsulate what has been proposed in previous discussions in the House and pertinent to the group of amendments we are now discussing.

The Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, indicated towards the end of his contribution that he was becoming more positive on the idea of amendments being accepted on Report Stage in the Seanad. He spoke about accepting them in the Dáil but I do not see why they could not be accepted at this juncture in the Seanad.

Senators previously spoke on the need to accept these amendments as proposed and I am particularly interested in them. The facility proposed for the port in Waterford is very close to where I live and the south east is and has been an unemployment blackspot, even through the Celtic tiger and especially since the collapse of the construction sector in this country. There are significant difficulties with employment across the country and especially in the south east.

The region was home to the sugar beet factory in Carlow town and it only recently closed. There is a ready source of product which can be processed into ethanol from the agricultural community in the hinterland which exists in the south east. For those reasons, I hope the Minister will be in a position to give a positive indication to the House in his response and to accept the proposed amendments.