John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. Any move to enhance and add value to the State's infrastructure is positive, including the extensive infrastructure overseen by ESB Networks. I echo Senator Mulcahy's commendation of the Trojan work in ferocious, difficult conditions over the past number of weeks of ESB crews who braved the elements and put their own health in risk to restore power to homes, businesses and farms. I also commend them on the industrious and committed way they set about their work.

I welcome the Bill and the capacity it will provide to address the chronic rural broadband deficit. The Minister and his Department, in concert with others in government, have made great strides in improving investment in this area, which was neglected for years largely following the ill-judged privatisation of Eircom at a time when the then Government should have protected the infrastructure for the benefit of the State rather than selling it off. This is an example of infrastructure that the State does a better job of managing by taking a long-term strategic view rather than short-term profit taking. There has been considerable progress in the roll-out of high speed broadband in post-primary schools. The Minister and the Minister for Education and Skills deserve great credit for pursuing this project. I have witnessed first-hand how much this has enhanced and improved the infrastructure within our education system to the benefit of future generations as they emerge to pursue their careers.

Unfortunately, in keeping with comments by previous speakers, Timahoe, where I come from, is a Netflix no-go area just like Ballyroan and other towns and villages in the area. Like others in rural Ireland, I will have to wait for the box sets because, despite changing service providers and despite investment in the infrastructure locally, the broadband speed is not fast enough to support the watching of movies or television programmes. This is an inhibiting factor in respect of job creation in the regions, for example, in the agriculture sector, and it is also an issue for businesses and domestic users. The enhancement of rural broadband infrastructure could be enabled by this creative initiative through which the ESB will form strategic alliances with other companies and this will improve quality of life and stimulate job creation and spin-offs for small businesses, which are inhibited by the lack of high speed broadband.

I tracked the progress of the legislation through the Dáil recently. It would be remiss of me not to take the opportunity in an overall context to refer to ESB Networks and the expansion of the national grid and the comments of my party colleague, Deputy Anne Ferris, in the Lower House. The Minister will be only too well aware of ongoing public concern about the EirGrid's plans to double the size of the national grid. I do not need to go through the data but energy consumption during peak periods in the State averages 5,000 MW. Currently, proposals to generate 3,500 MW of energy through wind turbines is going through the planning process, which would provide a high proportion of our energy needs. However, it is more alarming for me and others throughout the country who have come to me with their concerns that there are plans in the pipeline to generate an additional 28,000 MW via wind energy for domestic use or export. Would it be wise for us to step back a little from that - I know the Minister will address a key wind energy conference later today - to conduct a mapping exercise in this regard? Senator Landy has referred to the mapping exercise in recent weeks because this would provide us with an audit of existing wind energy provision, including wind farms and turbines, the projects going the planning process and those that are proposed and what would be required to connect them to the national grid or undergrounded through DC cable to the European grid. We would then have an overview of the grid capacity required to facilitate this extensive provision, which I believe is excessive and will not, ultimately, be economically, environmentally or socially sustainable.

There is considerable and growing unease among the public with questions raised with us as public representatives on an ongoing basis about who is driving this policy and to what end. I am trying to be fair to everyone and I ask the Minister to look into this. Throughout his political career, he has always upheld the highest standards of probity and integrity but there are questions, to which we cannot turn a blind eye, regarding vested interests and conflicts of interest among those involved in policy formation and those who will ultimately benefit if the policy is implemented. We have a duty to explore this. Brochures were circulated throughout the midlands by a large wind farm company during the Christmas period, which named people who are working for it as public affairs consultants and who are members of its board. I will not name them because it is not appropriate. They are lobbying in the interests of wind farm companies and developers while playing an insider role in policy formation and design.

The roll-out of the grid in a bid to double its capacity by EirGrid, on behalf of the taxpayer, with a cost of €3.2 billion will add value to our infrastructure which is important. It is also important, however, that we do not build a house of cards that could be blown over if it is not economically sustainable.