Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 224: To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources his main energy conservation plans and priorities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20358/05]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

It is becoming increasingly obvious that energy efficiency and conservation bear on the activities of every Minister. My ambition is to bring about an increase in the priority given to it. Government policy on the conservation and sustainable use of energy is directed through Sustainable Energy Ireland, SEI, which was established under the Sustainable Energy Act in 2002 as an independent non-commercial State body. SEI and its programmes are funded under the current national development plan and the economic and social infrastructure operational programme to end 2006.

SEI is responsible for focusing on the deployment of energy efficiency and conservation measures across all sectors of the economy. Its programmes include an extensive consumer information programme, a warmer homes scheme to address fuel poverty in low-income households, an industry programme to encourage better energy management and energy efficiency in the industrial sector, a public sector programme designed to produce model energy efficient buildings in the public sector and the house of tomorrow programme which provides grant aid for the building of groups of energy efficient homes. In particular, I am actively encouraging the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works to make energy efficiency an important design criterion for building projects for the decentralisation programme.

Analysis of statistics shows a relative decoupling of Ireland's total primary energy requirement from economic growth, especially since 1992. This success is due to changes in the structure of the economy and improvements in energy efficiency, which have also meant reductions in energy-related CO2 production. The development of alternative energy in Ireland has, to date, been supported under the alternative energy requirement, AER, programme administered by my Department. A renewable energy development group was established in 2004 to advise on future options on policies, targets, programmes and support measures to develop the increased use of renewable energy in the electricity market to 2010 and beyond. Based on the work of the group, I was able to announce last April the outline of a future support mechanism based on a fixed price proposal in place of competitive tendering. In addition, the support which was previously tied to contracts with the ESB will now be accepted from any licensed supplier. I also indicated that wind powered technology will remain the dominant technology in reaching this target.

In parallel to the ongoing work of the renewable energy development group, a number of other strategy and policy groups have examined alternative and sustainable energy sources. The work of both the bioenergy strategy group and the combined heat and power policy group has fed into the renewable energy development group.