Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 235: To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food the area of land currently dedicated to the growing of various forms of biofuels; the degree to which production is in line with projections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22263/10]

Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Less than 0.2% of the agricultural land in Ireland is under non-food crops made up of oilseeds, miscanthus, willow and small quantities of wheat and oats used for energy purposes. The table below details the areas sown between 2007 and 2009 in hectares.

As the table shows, production has concentrated on the cultivation of oilseeds, willow and miscanthus. Oilseed rape is traditionally grown in Ireland as a break crop in a one-in-four year rotation for use in the biofuel, food and animal feed markets. Willow and miscanthus crops produce pellet and wood chip materials to generate heat and power in the domestic and commercial sectors. It is expected that up to 700 ha of willow and miscanthus (320 ha miscanthus and 370 ha willow) will be planted in 2010 under the new round of the Bioenergy Scheme.

The sector is still in the early stages of development. In general, the production of energy crops will be sustainable in the longer term if the economic returns are comparable with those offered by traditional farm enterprises. Much will depend on profitability at farm level and on the rate of development of production and consumption patterns for bioenergy feedstocks. The recent announcement by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources of guaranteed price supports via Renewable Energy Feed-In Tariffs (REFIT) for Biomass Combined Heat and Power and Biomass Combustion, including co-firing of biomass in the three peat powered stations, is a significant boost to the Bioenergy Sector.