Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Seanadóir fá choinne na ceiste seo a ardú ar maidin. Tá mé sásta bheith ar ais sa Seanad arís. I thank the Senator for raising this important matter.

On 30 November last the European Commission published the Clean Energy for All Europeans package which included eight legislative proposals. Included in the wide-ranging package is a proposal for a new renewable energy directive to replace the existing 2009 directive, No. 2009/28/EC, which will expire at the end of 2020. The Department of Communications, Climate Change and Environment recently launched a public consultation process on the package and details are available on its website. The Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, encourages stakeholders and citizens alike to have an input into the process.

The 2009 EU renewable energy directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of its energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. Ireland is committed to achieving this target through meeting 40% of the demand for electricity, 12% of the demand for heat and 10% of the demand for transport from renewable sources of energy, with the latter target also being legally binding. In the transport sector Ireland aims to meet its 10% target by 2020, mainly through the increased use of sustainable biofuels, with electric vehicles also making a small contribution. A further increase in the obligation rate under the biofuels obligation scheme took effect from 1 January 2017, when the rate increased to 8% by volume.

The proposals in the new renewable energy directive build on the existing directive and provide a framework for renewable energy sources development to 2030. Included among the proposals is an obligation on transport fuel suppliers across the European Union to provide for an increasing share of renewable low-carbon fuels. There is an obligation on fuel suppliers to provide a minimum share of energy from advanced biofuels and renewable electricity. In addition, it is proposed that the existing cap on food-based biofuels that can be counted towards the EU target be gradually reduced in the decade to 2030.

All of this is in line with the Commission’s publication, A European Strategy for Low Emission Mobility, published in 2016. The low emission mobility strategy outlines the initiatives the Commission is planning in the coming years and is regarded as one of the tools to modernise the European economy and strengthen its internal market. It highlights three main elements, namely, increasing the efficiency of the transport system, speeding up the deployment of low emission alternative energy sources for transport and moving towards zero emissions vehicles.

The issue of indirect land use change, ILUC, which can occur when crop-based biofuels are deployed needs to be addressed, while the production of next generation biofuels must be encouraged and supported. A key priority for the Government is to optimise the contribution of agriculture to securing a vibrant and sustainable rural economy. There will be challenges in meeting the increasing demand for land, where there is a need to sustainably increase food production and provide more feedstock for bioenergy. However, the continued shift in focus away from crop-based biofuels, as proposed in the new directive, and the innovative use of waste products, including animal by-products, can help to achieve the demand for bioenergy and lead to job creation and growth. This is already happening. For example, almost all of the biofuels produced in Ireland in recent years have been manufactured from wastes such as tallow and used cooking oil.

Discussion of the proposed new renewables directive will be the subject of negotiations between member states and the Commission in the coming months. Given the extensive nature of proposals included in the new directive, detailed analysis and further consideration of them is under way. Officials in the Minister's Department will be working closely with counterparts in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine on the biofuel and biomass aspects of the proposals. One of the Minister's key aims is to ensure the level of ambition agreed to, combined with the structures and arrangements to be put in place, will facilitate the meeting of renewable energy targets to 2030 in a manner that will optimise the contribution of the agrifood sector to the economy. In summary, the Minister would like to assure the House that both he and his officials will be working to ensure appropriate and sustainable outcomes are achieved for all, including agreement on biofuel targets.

In response to the Senator's specific request for a yes or no answer, it is obvious from the reply that there is a consultation process for the new directive. It is important that the worries and fears expressed be fed into the process, which I am sure will happen. There is a balance to be struck between land usage and the need for biofuels. Based on the feedback, analysis and statistics, it seems that much of the usage of biofuels is stemming from new mechanisms rather than land use.