Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 5, after line 53, to insert the following:

"(6) No carbon revenue levy is payable by an electricity generator that has purchased the full value of their carbon allowances available to them until the end of 2012 in a commercial transaction.".

The logic behind this amendment is that it is very unfair to expect a new entrant to come into the market on the basis of already existing market structures and which will continue to be in place from now until 2012. A new entrant into the market will have to pay a separate lump sum for the carbon allowances it will require. It is also to be noted that this lump sum is to be paid on top of what it pays for the power stations it has purchased. One of the ways in which I believe this to be unfair is with regard to market competitiveness. Any new entrant will do so under existing market structures that will be in place until 2012. These structures will leave the new entrant at a competitive disadvantage as it will be competing with existing businesses which received 85% to 90% of their carbon allowances for free under the Kyoto carbon trading provisions.

The new entrant will be, in effect, treated the same as the existing generators who were given 90% of their carbon allowances for free and therefore the new entrant will be paying on the double. New entrants will also be competing with companies which are making unearned profits through charging customers for the release of carbon emissions for which they already have an allowance.

If we are to be truly serious in our commitment to creating more jobs and incentivising more people to enter into new businesses, we need to make it as easy as possible for them to do so. If it is financially impossible for new entrants to enter into this market we will not see any growth in this sector and as a result, the capacity to create jobs will be greatly diminished.

This amendment is predicated on principles of fairness and on the principle of creating the most conducive environment for job creation and creating a level playing pitch, so to speak, in competitiveness terms. This amendment proposes to address a possible anomaly in the legislation. I commend the amendment to the Minister and ask him to consider embodying it in the legislation, either in its totality or in a version.