James Heffernan (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State. There was confusion within the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government yesterday when I proposed this item. It did not understand whether it came under its remit or that of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. That says it all about this gasification technology, that senior people in Departments are unaware of it. I tried, through the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, which provides a fantastic service, to get a bit of information on this and the Government’s position on it but it could not provide much. My own research has found international examples.

It is of huge concern, especially to the people of west Limerick but also throughout the county. I do not want to see my county being treated as a dump. People have had to live next door to Gortadroma for the past 20 years and the local authority was well aware of the problems associated with it. If the Minister of State drives around the area she will see shells of houses which people have left. The property is worthless. Those people had to leave the area. Having put up with that over all those years, the communities are now expected to lie down and take this huge gasification unit which will be built on their doorstep.

The justification for this is that it will be a terrific economic driver in the area which will create a heap of jobs, that the council will get a huge sum in rent - the figure quoted ranges between €3 million and €5 million per year - and that everything is hunky-dory with this. That is not the feeling of the people in the area. It is my duty and that of every public representative to represent the public but that has not happened in this instance. It is one year since the amalgamation of Limerick County and City Councils. The Putting People First document, published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, is the biggest oxymoron I have ever heard in respect of issues such as this because people have not been put first in this instance, quite the contrary. Many of these decisions were made clandestinely. Councillors from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and Independent Fianna Fáil in the municipal district talked about this and came to the conclusion that it was a good idea. They went back to their party groups in the council with the disposal notice when it was agreed at municipal district level and a decision was taken at the full council meeting, which was a rubber-stamping job.

Council meetings in Limerick have become a circus since the amalgamation. This was put down to teething problems but the situation has not improved at all. Issues such as this, with potentially huge effects on the people of the area, were not discussed. There was no presentation on gasification to all council members when they voted on the disposal notice. They had no clue what they were voting on. Some were duped into voting on this. It is not good enough that the council has conducted itself in this way and manipulated the systems put in place by the Department's Putting People First document so that its decisions and those of county management are put ahead of the people who voted for the councillors. I would like to hear the Minister of State’s response on where the Government stands on gasification because I have not seen where it can fit in or improve or help move Ireland towards the 2020 targets.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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My response is to the question that was put: "The need for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to clarify the Government’s position in relation to gasification plants, and how this fits with the Government’s 2020 targets."

Ireland currently has an ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction target under the 2009 EU effort-sharing decision for each year between 2013 and 2020. Under the decision, we must limit the growth of greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 2005 levels in the period 2013 to 2020. In terms of renewable energy, Ireland has been set a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. We aim to meet this target by using renewable resources for 40% of electricity demand, with 10% of transport fuelled from such sources and 12% of heat.

Attaining the greenhouse gas emission reduction target requires a concerted national effort, and the Government has responded energetically to the challenge. Following on from the adoption of the national policy position on climate action and low-carbon development in 2014, and in anticipation of enactment of the Climate Bill, which is currently before the Oireachtas, work has begun on preparing a national low-carbon transition and mitigation plan.

A primary objective of the national mitigation plan will be to bring a clear and strong focus to both the challenges and the opportunities of transitioning to a low-carbon future, and the importance of a forward-looking and cost-effective national transition agenda. The plan will also track the implementation of steps already under way and identify additional measures in the longer term, including in the area of emerging technologies.

With respect to renewable energy, our national energy policies recognise the importance of other renewable sources such as biodegradable waste. In this regard, both the alternative energy requirement, AER, and the renewable energy feed-in tariff, REFIT, schemes support electricity generated from anaerobic digestion, landfill gas and the biodegradable element of municipal solid waste.

In terms of further developing waste as an energy resource, the draft national bioenergy plan, published last year, recommends optimising the availability of waste for energy and continued support for innovative energy uses for animal by-products. Furthermore, analysis underpinning the draft bioenergy plan demonstrates that an additional bioenergy-focused measure in the heat sector would represent the most cost-effective means of meeting a number of our policy goals. In this regard, I understand it is the intention of my colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, subject to further Government approval and State aid clearance, to introduce a renewable heat incentive in 2016. Research suggests there is a potentially significant role for biogas and biomethane in the transport sector. However, I understand that more detailed economic analysis of the supply chains, from production through to distribution and use, would be helpful to guide future policy.

In terms of the Senator's reference to gasification plants, it is important also to outline the role of waste policy. National waste policy is predicated on the management of waste in line with the waste hierarchy as set out in Article 4 of the waste framework directive of 2008. Gasification and incineration with energy recovery occupy the same tier of the waste hierarchy, called "other recovery", and national waste policy does not favour one particular technology over the other in this instance. Similarly, while the waste management plans that were recently launched by the regional groupings of local authorities support the development of up to 300,000 tonnes of future additional thermal recovery capacity at a national level, the plans do not differentiate between different thermal recovery technologies.

James Heffernan (Labour)
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I thank the Minister of State for her reply. The last part of her reply says it all when gasification and incineration are put in one bracket. That is what people fear, certainly in Ballyhahill, Foynes, Shanagolden and such areas, as they see them as all the one. I cannot see how this will improve the 2020 targets in the slightest. The Minister of State mentioned other renewable sources of energy. What is proposed to be burned in this plant is thousands of tonnes of tyres and plastics, which will emit all sorts of poisons and toxins into the air. That is something we do not want. Much truck has been given to the EPA, with people saying it will provide protection when it comes to emissions.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator have a question for the Minister of State?

James Heffernan (Labour)
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Judging from what I have heard from the EPA, I am not confident that it can fulfil that role, given that it has immunity from prosecution, which is an issue that the Department needs to look at. That has been raised here by me and others on a number of occasions and is the big elephant in the room. I do not see how the response from the Government can inspire confidence in this plant.

Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)
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Does the Senator have a question for the Minister of State?

James Heffernan (Labour)
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It is certainly a matter that the Department needs to get to grips with, because this is going to become a big issue.

Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour)
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Climate change, waste, how we deal with waste, energy sources, energy resources and renewables are not specifically the remit of the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. If the Senator were to engage also with the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Alex White, it might help him to see the other side of the equation. I can sense the Senator's frustration. It may help to inform him that if he was to engage with the officials in that Department, they may be able to provide some specific information on biomass targets and how they see the position. He could then put the two pieces of information together to arrive at a more informed opinion. As it is not only the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government that deals with this issue, the Senator may need to get some more information from the other Departments to help him. I am not sure if the Senator finds that helpful, but I think it would be helpful.