Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I heard a debate on the energy sector on the radio yesterday. The Government can assist the agricultural sector and the agribusiness sector to put in place alternative energy projects. One such alternative is solar energy. I am not referring to solar panels but to a solar energy installation that can be put on the roofs of large buildings from which electricity can be generated. It could be put on the roof of a co-operative, for example. Another alternative is the capturing of methane gas from slurry pits and processing plants. Such projects would assist the agricultural sector and agribusiness sector. The Government needs to be proactive in terms of giving applicants who develop such electricity generation projects a proper tariff. It may be expensive to do that on the one hand but it would deal with a certain problem on the other.

The Government seems to be railroading this Bill through the Houses because it has not yet met the stakeholders involved.