John Whelan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, to the House. As line Minister for this important policy area, I look forward to his response. I have expressed the view on more than one occasion that the bioenergy sector has been the poor relation or Cinderella of the broad renewable energy industry. There is an apparent disregard at Department level and within the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, for the role bioenergy can play in achieving our renewable energy targets, displacing CO2 emissions, reducing imports of fossil fuels and creating jobs.

For two years, the Department dragged its heels on publishing a bioenergy policy perspective. While I am glad it has finally been produced, the delay has led to certain problems, particularly with regard to the introduction of a renewable heat incentive, RHI. It is important for the industry to know what supports will be provided and the infrastructure around the transfer from fossil fuels, namely, oil and gas, to renewables, including biomass and bioenergy. However, the start-up date for the scheme is given as some time in 2016. This uncertainty and delay has had the unforeseen consequence of impeding and stalling the sector and bringing about a chilling effect. I could refer to numerous large-scale projects that were cancelled, put on hold or are in limbo because the developers are not willing to proceed without knowing at what stage the RHI will be implemented and what terms and criteria will apply.

It is in the Minister's gift to address this issue and bring some clarity to the situation, either by bringing forward the date of implementation, actually fixing an implementation date or, even at this juncture, outlining the criteria and standards that will apply when the scheme is introduced. That would enable people to proceed with investment and advance planning for such developments. The current uncertainty is having a negative impact on the sector and obstructing job creation in rural areas and within the regions. The bioenergy sector has a large contribution to make. In fact, an as yet unpublished SEAI report indicates there are 5,000 sustainable jobs to be created in the sector if it is given its head and the opportunity to grow and prosper. Unfortunately, many of the relevant companies have relocated to the United Kingdom, which is light years ahead of us on this.

We must take a more vigorous and committed approach to the sector. We need, in the first instance, a domestic equivalent to the UK's RHI scheme.Why should we be subsidising oil and gas furnaces through the Better Homes scheme when we should be subsidising bioenergy? As the Minister knows, once families install boilers and heating systems, there is a 20-year commitment over a system's lifetime to importing oil and gas. This is counterproductive to the Government's objective of reaching our 2020 renewable targets, making our contribution towards addressing climate change, removing carbon from the system and creating sustainable jobs instead of importing fossil fuels.

As the Minister is aware, the commitment in the policy is to replace 200,000 tonnes of oil per year by 2020. It would be a major boon to the economy if we were to do so via investing in bioenergy systems. Will the Minister intervene in this matter? It is within his gift. Were clarity brought to the situation, it would help. This has the added benefit of helping the Minister to achieve his objectives as regards the 2020 targets on renewable energy and so on.