Tim Lombard (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber. I think the last time we met was at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action in Leinster House. I am not a member of the committee, but I took the opportunity to attend so that I could be briefed on this important issue. We had four hours of debate that day. This debate is still ongoing and we still need clarity on many issues. Obviously, what the consumer will pay will be addressed in the budget. Businesses also need to be included in that. For small shops, such as a Centra, the cost of electricity and other power has gone from maybe 15 cent or 16 cent per kWh and is heading towards 50 cent per kWh at the moment. That is a significant burden, which will be passed on. We need to debate how we deal with that at the primary level as part of the budget. I hope the budget will introduce measures for everyone in that regard.

I am always concerned about people in one section of society - widowers. When their partners die, they lose €250. While they get the living alone allowance of €20, they still must heat their house and have the same living costs. They are down at just over €200 a week. They probably do not have the ability to earn that anywhere. In the budget we need to ensure that section of society is energy security-proofed when it comes to the cost of heating their houses. Some of these houses have been heated by solid fuel and there will be a major change there. I wonder if they will have the interest, ability and energy to go through that process. I ask the Minister to take into consideration how we might deal with that group.

I wish to speak about Ireland's potential. Ballylongford is quite far away from Cork. There is a proposal relating to a gas main from the old Kinsale gas field. During the summer it was spectacular to see the enormous cranes take up the platform over three days. That pipeline infrastructure is still there. Is there potential to have a floating LNG terminal in the harbour? We have the pipeline and we have the infrastructure at Aghada. People have talked about the ability for us to become part of the solution with a floating LNG terminal in Cork Harbour. It would provide a short-term solution to that problem. We may then see the gas field used for a carbon-capture project in the future.

I have previously asked about the potential for anaerobic digestion. Anaerobic digestion is a significant tool that is underused in the State. We have 12 active anaerobic digesters. Northern Ireland has approximately 74. Our policy regarding these has been totally underutilised. We need to find a mechanism to allow anaerobic digestion to be used. During the summer I had the privilege to visit one of these. They told me it took them six and a half years to get planning permission. Some 1.5 labour units per year are spent on the compliance work relating to these entities.

The co-operative movement needs to play a role in the roll-out of anaerobic digestion. It has been successful in other parts of the agricultural industry. Government needs to get all the actors together to ensure we can deliver a network of anaerobic digestion throughout the country. That would be welcome by everyone in rural areas. Throughout the agricultural industry and commercial industry there is potential to join all the dots for the benefit of society.

I am concerned over the potential for amber alerts and how we might deal with them. I have listened to the regulator, representatives of EirGrid and everyone else regarding the key issues with energy generation. They spoke about of having a special tariff between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the hope that industry and households might change their approach. However, we milk cows between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. We cannot milk them at 2 p.m. or midnight. It would be totally inappropriate to apply a special tariff to 6,500 dairy farmers between 5 and 7 every evening.

During the hearings I attended in Leinster House a few weeks ago, it became obvious that the regulator never even considered it. I ask the Minister to intervene personally to ensure that people milking cows are not caught by a tariff increase of 12.5%. Otherwise, there will be lads and ladies working at midnight to milk cows or else milking cows at 2 p.m. There is a practical solution that the Minister needs to address. I ask him to consider the issue. It affects 6,500 farm families and would mean another surcharge on an already expensive electricity cost.

It has got to the point that farmers are now investing in generators because they think it might be the cheaper option for evening milking. I do not think that is appropriate. Unless we get direction, we will have this cohort of society who cannot change their processes and workload working at midnight. I ask the Minister to look into that issue personally.Of course, the real issue will be the price we pay for energy. The approach the Minister has been taking, if I read the media correctly, of helping out through the budget with two or three extra payments, is the appropriate way forward. That is a real, welcome initiative that, it is to be hoped, the budget will deliver on. I sincerely thank the Minister for listening.