Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Question 108: To ask the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs his views on whether it is pivotal to include specific renewable energy enterprise measures and targets in the list of sectoral niches that could address the issue of sustainable employment in rural areas as outlined in the draft Rural Development Plan 2007 to 2013. [42912/06]

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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Rural Ireland is particularly vulnerable to over-reliance on non-renewable energy sources because of the low density of the rural population and extended transport systems. The challenge, therefore, will be to increase natural resource usage for energy production. Renewable energy production can create economically and environmentally sustainable enterprises and play an important role in the provision of employment in the coming years.

More specifically, initiatives at local level with regard to adapting new technologies can provide a meaningful contribution in securing energy supplies to rural communities. The main focus on renewable energy initiatives under the Rural Economy heading of the National Rural Development Programme, running from 2007 to 2013, will be on the development and adaptation of indigenous local natural resources to provide energy sources and options to local rural communities. The Leader methodology can play a significant role in this regard through the development of local awareness of the benefits of renewable energy — both to communities and to supporting small scale enterprises.

Some funding will be available through local Leader partnerships to support analysis of local needs, matching these with the availability of renewable energy resources and providing some capital assistance to suitable community and enterprise-based projects.