Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I heard the Minister's speech and the contributions of one or two colleagues. It is an interesting debate and, as with most Seanad debates, we do not stick rigidly to the legislation before us but I hope the Minister is taking on board some of the extraneous suggestions. I listened with interest to Senator Brennan, who could become the seanchaí of the current Seanad. His discussions with possible ESB clients 30 and 40 years ago gives us a picture of what Ireland was like then. Where we will go in the next 30 or 40 years is an interesting question.

Senators Quinn and O'Sullivan made the uncomfortable but necessary suggestion that we should have a genuine debate on the desirability or otherwise of nuclear power, which we cannot ignore. The previous Minister had a personal philosophical difficulty with the concept of nuclear power but thought it was a subject worthy of serious debate. Over the course of the next few years, we must be mature enough to have the debate. As we speak, there are proposals for enhanced nuclear facilities in Britain. Those facilities are probably closer to the city of Dublin than the Carnsore Point would have been. In the context of the advance of nuclear power technology in Britain, France and elsewhere, we need to have a debate on whether it will play a role in future energy needs of the country.

The Minister referred to sections 10 to 16 of the Bill, relating to energy efficiency. This is very important and we have not made sufficient progress on energy efficiency. As well as nuclear, we are also looking at solar and geothermal energy but we must focus more attention on energy efficiency and savings. The number of new houses being built has fallen dramatically and hopefully it will rise again. At the planning stage, all sorts of advice is available to people building a house and different agencies are peddling technology but my suggestion is that the applicant receives a certificate or document demonstrating the heating costs of the house and the various options when submitting a planning application. At that stage of the construction of the house, we should focus on heating costs and energy efficiency. Once the house is built, we are playing catch up. In many of Ireland's modern housing estates, energy efficiency is limited and low. Maybe it is coming through in rules and regulations but much more progress must be made. If we were forced to quantify the heating and energy cost of the house at the building stage, it would cause people to look closely at energy provision, efficiency and insulation.

The legislation refers to LPG and the previous speaker referred to natural gas and the desirability of making more progress. Although it is unrelated to the Bill, perhaps the Minister can ask his officials to provide statistics and details on LPG provision in cars. For two or three years in the mid to late 1970s, although it was not the majority choice, 5% to 10% of cars were powered by LPG. Some car companies, particularly Volvo, worked on conversion units. Perhaps the Minister can talk to his Cabinet colleague with responsibility for transport to consider the possibility of having more cars in this country running on LPG. It is environmentally friendly and will hopefully be a national, natural source of energy. It requires adjustments to car engines but in northern Europe and Scandinavia a significant number of cars have engines built specifically for LPG. I welcome the Bill, which is technical but important and allows us to do some contemplation and reflection on energy supply and conservation in this country. It is a movable feast and policies keep changing but we need to pay greater attention to energy conservation, installation and that aspect of reduction.