Mr. Seán Kelly:

I agree completely with Senator Malcolm Byrne. We had a debate and vote on Russia and Ukraine in the European Parliament before Christmas. Some 548 MEPs voted in favour, 69 voted against and 54 abstained. Of the Irish MEPs, seven of 13 voted in favour. That does not send a great message to our friends in Ukraine and is worth looking at. I will leave it at that because anybody who is any way sane will see that what Russia is doing to Ukraine is totally off the charts.

I compliment Senator Lombard on his good work on CAP and so forth. I agree with Mr. Kelleher. We have not emphasised enough the opportunities for farmers to improve in their performance. First, we cannot have a situation where emissions go up. Second, emissions have to come down by at least 22% and it is hoped, by more.There are areas that are not being exploited enough to make this happen. One is the area of solar panels on the massive sheds we have throughout the country. Mr. Kelleher is absolutely right with regard to anaerobic digestion. It would solve a lot of problems. There could be one in almost every parish. It would be a huge factor in reducing emissions for farmers. Of course we also have practices such as genetics, protected urea etc. All of these measures can help. Something that must be made clear is the vast majority of farmers are farming because they like farming. They like the land. They do not want to be in a position where they are destroying the environment. It is a question of putting the measures in place to help them improve the situation. The bottom line is that emissions have to come down.

Senator Ahearn asked a very good question. What he spoke about is a huge opportunity. I am delighted the Tánaiste, Deputy Varadkar, announced a task force for the area. It is something he promised in the programme for Government almost two years ago. It is very encouraging. It has great opportunities. Let us look at the positives. We all want renewable energy and we want it 100% renewable but it will take time. Senator Ahearn mentioned planning, as did I. Senator Malcolm Byrne does not agree with the Fit for 55 label but it is there and we have to live with it.

Offshore wind off the west coast is off the charts with potential but we need the infrastructure at the coast to harness it. Shannon Foynes Port has everything going for it. It is one of the deepest seawater ports in Europe at 32 m deep. It needs no dredging. It has natural dredging. There are great advantages there. The chief executive officer, Pat Keating, and others have done huge work. It has benefited from European funds including the Cohesion Fund. A lot more than LNG would be able to come in once the gas is brought in. There is also a pile of ancillary industries that could be brought forward. They could use gas to get rid of the coal in Moneypoint. It could also transfer in due course to hydrogen and biogas. The offshore wind could also be used for hydrogen. All of this has huge potential. It would take in Senator Ahearn's county of Tipperary and all the places around it because it would have a knock-on effect. These are the main points that have been mentioned and I will leave it at that. I thank the Seanad and the Cathaoirleach for the invitation. It was wonderful to be here. Today's discussion with us reflects the wisdom of the Irish people in saying they wanted to retain the Seanad. It has taken the criticism on board. It has brought a positive new dimension and image to the Seanad and long may it continue to do so.