Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent)
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589. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will provide an update on the strategic environmental and appropriate assessments, including public consultation, for the draft bioenergy plan; if County Donegal and the north-west region of the country will be included in the measures to stimulate and support the supply of Irish biomass; when the finalised plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9155/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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My Department will shortly be issuing a Request for Tenders (RfT) inviting responses for the provision of services to assist in the completion of a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and Appropriate Assessment (AA) which will inform the content of the finalised Bioenergy Plan to be published later this year. The SEA/AA process, which will include a public consultation, will be managed by my Department and overseen by the Bioenergy Steering Group, which has been established to coordinate the implementation of the Draft Bioenergy Plan.

The draft plan identifies the opportunity, at a national level, for the sustainable development of Ireland's bioenergy resources and will be implemented through a number of policy and enabling actions. It recommends the continuation of the REFIT schemes and the Biofuels Obligation Scheme. The draft plan also proposes the introduction of a Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) for larger heat users. These measures would encourage demand for biomass.

While individual county's roles in the supply of biomass is not possible to anticipate, the draft plan recognises that meeting the demand for biomass from indigenous sources could deliver significant economic and employment benefits throughout the country. Consequently, the plan contains a number of measures to stimulate and support the supply of Irish biomass throughout the State. In this regard, the key recommendations include: the continued support for the Afforestation Programme; the continuation of the Bioenergy Scheme for energy crops; and the establishment of Bioenergy Ireland, a joint venture between Bord na Mona and Coillte.