Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. He has a busy week ahead of him.

I thank the Minister for the work he has done to date. For the past 30 years, he has been one of the few people talking about energy conservation and the need for the country to become sustainable and independent energy-wise. Were it not for the Green Party, we would be trying to figure all of this out. It is great to see all the parties now echoing what the Green Party has been saying for 30 years about becoming energy self-sufficient.

The Minister's goal is to have 80% renewable energy by 2030, which is a great and positive target to have. We have a lot of work to do. I appreciate the funding provided to enable people on a personal level to reduce their energy demands. The issue is not only energy supply. For years, as a country, we have wasted a lot of energy in the way we heat our homes, travel and source our food. The two Departments which the Minister heads have done great work since last July on supporting homeowners and giving them opportunities and choices to reduce their energy demands. We had a great presentation from the National Transport Authority, NTA, on improvements to rural transport.We also had a very good one from the SEAI, which has done great work and is offering lots of free retrofits and infrastructural improvements to people on low incomes and social welfare. To that end, as I want to bring it back to the personal, I have three short questions for the Minister. Hopefully, there will be low-rate green loans coming in so that middle income earners and people on low incomes will have opportunities to get loans that they can cover. Once they get a photovoltaic system or their house retrofitted, it will reduce their energy bills and they can then use the savings to pay back the loans. How are we progressing with that? I know that the Minister, more than anybody else in the country, has been working on the three things I will ask him about. Apart from the low-rate green loans, there is also the renewable energy feed-in tariff, which I know the Minister has been seeking for a long time. Thanks to him, it is coming back. When can we expect it and does the Minister have any idea of how much it will be?

How is the solar Bill that we brought to Second Stage progressing? It is a great opportunity for schools, community groups and farmers. Coming from rural north Clare I see it is a potential positive for farmers who have lots of sheds and a big amount of roof space. They are more than willing to get involved in the green revolution when given the choice. I would love to get an update on those three issues. I wish the Minister the best of luck with his great task and most important work in Glasgow in the coming weeks on behalf of the country.