Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

They have had no real input into the framing of this legislation. Senator Coffey proposed, by way of a reasoned amendment, that we should endeavour to get all-party agreement on this important legislation by bringing all the stakeholders on board and formulating a plan we could all support and with which we could move forward.

I agree with what Senator Ellis said about dealing with targets estimated by Teagasc for the year 2050. That is a ridiculous notion. It could be compared with thinking back to 1970 and trying to set targets then for 2011. I do not believe there were even diesel cars in 1970. If the number of changes that occurred in the past 40 years were to occur in the next 40, it would be pointless to try to set targets that far in advance. I agree with Senator Ellis on that point. We are way above the targets the EU has set for us for 2020.

I attended one or two meetings of the scrutiny committee in Brussels some years ago where we met many of the Commissioners. They outlined the 2020 targets to us and they were fairly severe. The targets that have been set are severe. Our economy was booming at the time those targets were set, something to which Senator Quinn alluded at the time. The Minister should note that we were also a growing population but are growing populations taken into account in those targets? We have been told our population has increased by a fairly large percentage. Our population has grown enormously in recent years but that has not been taken into account. Extra people mean there will be extra electricity demand, extra demand for food and so forth. I firmly believe we must go back to the drawing board. We need to set some targets but we must consult all the stakeholders. The agricultural and business sectors have a huge role to play in that regard.

I wish to read from the Annual Competitiveness Report 2008, which was commissioned by the Government. Under the heading "Balancing Affordable Renewables Targets with International Competitiveness", the report states:

Ireland is working towards its EU target of producing 15 percent of its electricity needs from renewable sources by 2010, which will improve the diversity of the fuel mix and our carbon performance. While the marginal cost of wind and other renewables is low or negligible, meeting the 2020 target of 40 percent will require substantial investment in the electricity grid and back-up power generation. From a competitiveness perspective, the NCC sees no first-mover advantage to Ireland in going beyond our already ambitious EU climate change targets. While the Commission for Energy Regulation (CER) is currently assessing the costs of implementing this target, the NCC cautions that the implementation of more burdensome targets should not proceed in the absence of a finalised cost assessment. In conjunction with the three percent per annum reduction in CO2 levels also set by the Government, this would result in a cumulative reduction in greenhouse gases in excess of those mandated by the EU. The combination of these policies has important cost implications for businesses and all consumers of energy in Ireland.

That is probably in the traded area but this also applies to the non-traded area. I ask the Minister that contact be made with all those sectors. The Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security brought forward proposals but the Government does not appear to have taken them on board.