Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat. It happens. In fact, unfortunately I have been partially responsible for poor Senator Keane being on the receiving end of interesting decisions from the Chair when I was in it as well. Apologies to her.

As my colleague, Senator Thomas Byrne, has outlined, we are supporting this Private Member's motion. There are a number of issues surrounding it that are of interest to me and perhaps we might tease out some of them. I welcome the Minister of State and compliment him on doing more than just standing up and reading a script of some ten or 11 pages of turgid detail that would have put us all to sleep, with all due respect to whoever drafted it. I accept that the facts must be recorded, but at least the Minister of State has contributed to a more lively and animated exchange, rather than just reading a long script.

I am particularly interested in the memorandum of understanding between the UK Government and Ireland, in the light of the recent decisions taken about the wind farm projects in the midlands, about which many people in the area are particularly pleased. These decisions do not change my party's view which is shared by the Government, that it is vital that renewable energy projects be developed in a manner which is sensitive to the environment and which will benefit local communities. I could not help but reflect on what was happening at the Corrib gas field. Yet another legal challenge has been mounted against an Environmental Protection Agency study. Despite the fact that I have read it twice, I still do not fully understand the basis for that challenge. It has something to do with the manner in which the project is progressing. Any international investor watching what goes on in this country in the context of mineral, gas and oil developments will note that the amount of time it takes from discovery of a reserve to getting it to the marketplace is unacceptably long. I say this while fully accepting that energy projects should be developed in a manner which is sensitive to the communities affected.

When Members of the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications met public representatives from Norway about 18 months ago, we asked them about local sensitivities in the context of onshore facilities. While they had numerous such facilities, they had nothing like the problems we have encountered with the Corrib gas field because they had engaged, from the outset, with local communities. That is where mistakes were made here. The Government at the time saw this as an opportunity and decided, within the existing parameters of legislation at the time, to just go ahead. It decided that it was good for Ireland, but it created a monster that is still with us. That is very unfortunate, from the perspective of the country as a whole. I am not for one moment criticising the people who are living in the area and have legitimate complaints. I do not know what it is like because I am not living there, but I am not going to cast aspersions on the challenges that have been mounted during the years by members of the local community. However, it seems, on balance, that the majority of the community in County Mayo are in favour of the project. The amount of money that has been pumped into the local economy is significant. Belmullet and the surrounding area have been revived by the investment. I hope the Government will look at the experience with the Corrib gas field and ensure all of the checks and balances put in place since the initiation of the project will mean that we will not have a repeat of that experience. I am somewhat concerned that outside investors will look at Ireland and ask, "Why bother?" They will wonder if it is worth the hassle, particularly given that several hundred wells have been sunk in the past 30 years and that there have only been two or three successes. Those who suggest we should follow the Norwegian regime are living in cloud cuckoo land because we are in a totally different position. If one drills a well anywhere in the North Sea, one will find oil, but that is not the case around our coast.