Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We also have tabled a similar amendment under section 3 which is in this group. I am a little concerned that we might miss our targets even as far out as 2050.Just this week, the European Union published an audit of European countries' fuel needs and Ireland has one of the highest levels of imported fossil fuels at 89%. In the context of this amendment and the Bill in general, what moves is the Government making to reduce that very high dependence? For example, will wind energy, which is very controversial in this country, make much of an impact? I welcome that today the Government has allocated €3.5 million to a number of pioneers in the area of wave energy. There are three Irish companies involved in this regard, including one in Galway.

I was a member of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly sub-committee that prepared a paper on wave energy. I believe at the time the Minister of State was a member of that committee and will be familiar with it. I know it is a long way down the road. When we were taking evidence, the expert witnesses told us we were at same the stage of wave energy development as the Wright brothers were when they were trying to get a plane off the ground for the first time. So it is at that very pioneering level. That was a bit of a shock to the system and somewhat disappointing because I thought that, with the way technology is moving so fast, we would have reached a much higher level of development. However, that is how matters stand. The Government is obviously committed to developing wave energy. Owing to its location, Ireland seems to have the best possible environment for the development of wave energy - primarily off our Atlantic coast. I think it is the best in the world.

Amendment No. 2 refers to "an approach to carbon neutrality in the agriculture and land-use sector, including forestry, which does not compromise capacity for sustainable food production." It is often stressed that the herd numbers in the country and the high levels of CO2 those animals discharge, through a variety of sources, are adding to our high levels of carbon emissions. While I am not an expert in agriculture, am I correct in stating that, with technology and through the mix of foodstuffs, we are having some success in reducing the amount of carbon emissions from our cattle herd? The Minister of State may have a comment to make on that because it is certainly a contributory factor.

Further to Senator Barrett's point about the need to achieve the targets proposed by the Government, I seem to recall that the targets we set ourselves for 2005 or 2010 under the Kyoto agreement, way back in the day, were reached primarily because of the rapid decline in our economic activity rather than any attempts by Government at the time to reduce it. Now that economic activity is picking up again, is the Minister of State concerned that this may pose a challenge and the Government's ambitious targets might be compromised to a degree? I appreciate she cannot wave a magic wand on the issue and we need to consider the long term. In an international context, Ireland would not be the worst offender in this regard. That is why we all welcome the proposals in the Bill. I just wanted to raise those points in the context of the amendment and I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.