Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister. What is his opinion on the recent retirement of the chairman of the ESB and his sizable pension, an issue that is of concern to us all? The wages paid within the ESB account for the significant increases in electricity bills. I am sure the Minister is well aware of the figures for energy costs, but one in four people claim they cannot cope with the increases, 15% have needed to dip into their savings to pay their energy bills and 8% have stated they are unable to cover household bills. These figures show that people are unable to cope with price increases, some of which have been in the range of 21%. For example, Airtricity which controls 17% of the domestic market and 15% of the electricity market has applied significant increases, thus increasing a household's annual bill of €720 by €160. Bord Gáis has done likewise, in that a household's annual bill has increased from €720 to €900. As we all know, wages represent the greatest cost in any company. In the ESB's case, that cost is considerable. The production of energy is not cheap and there is an oil supply issue, but even during our time in government, increments, pay increases and significant pensions were awarded time and again. Does the Government plan to tackle this issue?

We know about the better energy scheme because we introduced it. Although the Government is discussing increasing its use, there has been a 35% reduction in the grants available. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, takes up to six months to process grant applications. We have all dealt with constituents who have had work done, yet they are unable to have their grant applications processed.

We take issue with the Government's motion because of the extraordinary position on privately run grids. The Fianna Fáil Party is of the view that the grid system should remain in State ownership. What is proposed in the Government motion, namely, privately run grids, would lead to protests on a monumental scale. The ESB has the right to install grid infrastructure across private lands for the greater good of the community. However, if private companies are given the right to go through people's land we will have Shell to Sea times 100. Will the Minister clarify the reference to private grids?

The Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, said in the House on 8 October last that neither the EU nor the IMF is forcing the Government to dispose of State assets. It is a Government initiative, we were told, with the revenues that are generated to be put into a jobs initiative. We all know what happened when the levy was imposed on pension funds for the apparent purpose of creating jobs. Nobody can say whether a single job was created as a result of that money being taken out of pensions. The only clear result is that people are now afraid to put money into pensions for fear of being taxed. Will the Minister clarify the job creation proposals? The troika has indicated that it will consider the Government's proposal in this regard but that there can be no question of simply selling State assets and putting the revenues into a jobs fund without there being a proper plan and targets in place.

Members opposite referred to wind farm subsidies. A great deal of money is required to put that infrastructure in place. Thus far there has been an unco-ordinated approach, with large tracts of land designated for wind farms at various locations throughout the State but little or no progress thereafter. The hen harrier seems to be the most endangered and protected species on God's green earth. It is certainly the most famous bird in Ireland and seems to have visited every place where a planning application for a wind farm has been submitted. Another problem is that while we have zoning for wind farms, we do not have the facilities and infrastructure to get the electricity out of the farms. In other words, they are essentially non-viable. Will the Minister comment on this?

The motion calls to mind some of the more striking - I will not use the word "outrageous" because nothing is outrageous when it comes to five-point plans and so on - commitments given by the Fine Gael Party before the election. For example, the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, made many promises about the rerouting of the North-South gas pipeline away from his own constituency. That is now going full steam ahead.

The wind farm and wave energy proposals are very welcome. However, what is of greatest concern to people is the rising cost of energy. As my colleague from County Clare has pointed out, there is great potential for wind and wave energy in this State, but it is too far down the line to be of any help to the person whose electricity or gas bill was €720 last year and will be €900 this year. Many people are dipping into their savings in order to meet their bills, with one in four unable to afford to keep even a few rooms in their home warm.

What is the Government's stance on the grid system? This proposal, which I would ask the Minister-----