Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)

This requires the ongoing roll out of the Grid 25 investment programme, together with delivery of the essential North-South transmission reinforcements and completion of the east-west interconnector. Senator Byrne expressed concern about the North-South transmission. I agree with him that it is an essential reinforcement of the all-Ireland electricity system. The Government's commitment to commission international experts to assess the case for undergrounding of whole or part has been completed. No one questioned the credentials of the three international experts from Sweden, Norway and Belgium. As stated by Senator Byrne, the report is accessible. I published the report immediately on bringing it to Government. A copy of it has also been sent to the Chairman of the Select sub-Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Andrew Doyle. It is open to anyone, including the anti-pylon group, EirGrid, ESB networks and so on, to make submissions on the report to that committee. We must get on with making the decision thereafter. I have not heard anyone, even those most vehemently opposed to it, question the necessity for strengthening the grid in that regard.

The Government, together the UK Government, Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh administrations, working under the auspices of the British Irish Council, is firmly committed to developing the renewable energy resources of these islands with a view to developing cross border trade in renewable energy, where appropriate, across our jurisdictions. This can create a major renewable energy export opportunity for Ireland. Ireland has some of the best wind and wave resources by international standards. We intend to develop our renewable energy export potential in a way that can provide a real return to the State and to do so in a way that does not expose the Irish business or domestic electricity consumer to additional costs.

We are also working with our neighbouring countries to see how best we can co-operate to better plan and build our future energy infrastructure. In combining our efforts, we can find ways to reduce the overall amount of infrastructure required and to ensure the optimal use of the infrastructure that is built. In this way, all electricity consumers will be better off in the long run. Ireland is also working in Europe with the UK and eight other Governments, under the North Seas Offshore Grid Initiative, to create a planning, market and regulatory framework to support offshore infrastructure development and facilitate cross border renewable energy trading in north west Europe.

In terms of infrastructure capacity, the delivery by EirGrid of new grid and grid upgrades is critical to ensuring that Ireland can meet its renewable energy target. New grid and grid upgrades not only facilitate renewable energy but serve to enhance the economic opportunities available in rural parts of the country. I fully support and underline the importance and urgency of Grid 25 implementation, including the North-South interconnector.

During the past year, 150 km of new transmission lines were completed, along with upgrades to 300 km of existing lines. This new build and upgrading is essential if we are to connect 200MW of new renewable generation annually, commensurate with delivery of our target. The delivery of the east-west interconnector later in 2012 will be an important milestone, ending our electricity grid isolation and permitting trade with Britain, in line with the EU's goal of regional energy markets. A great deal can be done at local level in meeting these challenges. In that context, I welcome the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, initiative to develop a methodology that can be used by local authorities in compiling local and regional renewable energy strategies. An increasing number of counties are developing renewable energy deployment plans. These, combined with the development by the SEAI of geographic information systems for wind, bio-energy and geothermal resource assessment, can assist local authorities in developing their own comprehensive GIS maps of the renewable energy resources potentially available for development in their geographic areas.

The Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, is currently finalising a foreshore and marine area development Bill, the purpose of which is to integrate "the foreshore consent process under the Foreshore Acts 1933 with the existing on-land planning system". Specifically, this Bill will seek to do the following: integrate the foreshore consent process for major strategic infrastructure projects within the strategic consent process operated by An Bord Pleanála - Senator Mulcahy made a point in respect of such infrastructure; integrate the foreshore consent process for non-strategic infrastructure projects within the wider planning system operated by the local authorities; and provide for a plan-led approach for future foreshore development.

In the heat sector, last month the Government approved a new REFIT scheme for biomass technologies, including those involving combined heat and power and anaerobic digestion. The scheme aims to incentivise the addition of 310MW of renewable electricity biomass capacity to the Irish grid and will have the benefit of diversifying the range of energy sources from which our electricity is generated. As well as contributing to the targets for renewable electricity, the combined heat and power projects supported under the scheme will have the added benefit of contributing to our renewable heat targets, including the potential to be utilised for district heating programmes or as heat load for manufacturing processes. By using materials such as farm wastes - materials from forestry or energy crops - electricity generated from biomass gives rise to high local economic benefits and also to positive environmental and social impacts. The scheme will also underpin the energy crops grant programme operated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine. The scheme will also provide a stable market for developing the domestic biomass sector and the co-firing project, in particular, will present a new market for private and public forests for their product.

Ireland's target for energy in the transport sector coming from renewable sources by 2020 is 10%. This target will be achieved through the dual approach of deploying sustainably acceptable biofuels into our fossil fuel road transport fleet and by expanding the early electric vehicle market. We will increase the amount of sustainable biofuels used in the transport fuel mix to 10% by 2020. The biofuel obligation scheme introduced in 2010 currently obliges suppliers of road transport fuels to ensure that at least 4% of such fuels placed on the Irish market are biofuels. This level will be incrementally increased in the coming years to 10% by 2020. In addition, the Government has set a target to the effect that 10% of all vehicles should be powered or partially powered by electricity by 2020. This equates to a market size of around 220,000 vehicles. Senators may consider that this is an ambitious target. In April 2011, I launched the electric vehicle grant scheme to assist people in the purchase of battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. The grants relating to this scheme, which are additional to the VRT reliefs that currently apply, are available towards the purchase of electric vehicles.

At European level, my Department is working to ensure that new cross-border trading rules that will facilitate increased energy trading will be developed and that the new market arrangements that are being drawn up will facilitate the development of more renewable energy. Late last year, the European Commission published an energy infrastructure package which highlighted the need for greater interconnectivity between markets and the need to build infrastructure to help harness more renewable energy technologies. The European Union already has ambitious renewable energy, energy efficiency and climate change targets and the Commission is now setting longer-term ambitions in its roadmaps for low carbon economy and low carbon energy systems for 2050. Ireland must be part of those ambitions. Some contributors to the debate on this matter are of the view that the targets established by the European Union in respect of renewables are in some way optional, although no Senator has yet made this point. Regardless of whether one agrees with the levels of use of renewables that have been set down, the targets to which I refer are, in effect, mandatory in nature.

The Government is fully committed to achieving its EU and international climate change targets. The energy sector will play a key role in underpinning this by assisting in the achievement of our renewable energy and energy efficiency targets. We are clearly moving from an island-based energy system into a more interconnected and joined-up European energy market. As that market develops in the coming years, it will provide new and bigger market opportunities of which our renewable energy sector can avail. With our proven natural resources in this area, we are well placed to become a key renewable energy trading country.

I have, for some time, been committed to attend an important meeting in respect of this matter at another forum at 5 p.m. I, therefore, apologise for the fact that I will not be present for the remainder of the Seanad's debate on it. Before I leave, however, I wish to respond to some of the points raised by Senators.

I dealt with the issue of running cables underground and I hope that we can conclude the process in this regard in six weeks. I see no point in procrastinating. We should allow the relevant committee of the Oireachtas to proceed with its deliberations in order that everyone who wants to put forward his or her point of view might do so. It is necessary, however, to do the business. I hope I will be able to return to Government in respect of this matter within six weeks. After that, the planning process will take its course.

I agree with Senator Byrne in respect of one matter. He stated that what happened with Eircom was a mistake; I believe it was a disaster. That matter is the source of some discussion in the financial pages of the newspapers at present. Those who helped themselves, quite liberally, to the profits of Eircom rather than reinvesting them in broadband and other necessary infrastructure have a great deal for which to answer.