Vol. 538 No. 4
47 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise her reaction to a report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development calling for the elimination of State subsidies for the use of peat in electricity generation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14580/01]
49 Mr. Flanagan asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if a recent OECD report making recommendations on the use of peat in electricity generation calls into question the future of planned new stations at Shannonbridge, County Offaly and Lanesboro, County Longford. [14581/01]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 47 and 49 together.
I do not see that the OECD recommendation poses a threat to the development of the two new stations in the context of the closure of the existing ones. The recommendation on the use of peat in electricity generation is one of a number of recommendations contained in the recent review of regulatory reform in Ireland. This review of the regulatory situation in Ireland is one of a series of country reports carried out under the OECD regulatory reform programme aimed at assisting member Governments in improving the quality of regulation.
The OECD report represents a useful contribution towards the issue of regulatory reform in Ireland. Given its isolated position and island status, Ireland has traditionally followed a multi-fuel policy in the generation of electricity in the interest of security of supply. Peat is an indigenous fuel which has been used to lessen our exposure on the security of supply front. The issue of supply security is acknowledged in the EU electricity directive which allows member states to give priority to the dispatch of generating plants using indigenous fuel up to 15% in any calendar year. In line with this provision and our traditional security policy, it was agreed in early 2000 in the context of the future liberalised electricity industry in Ireland to phase out the existing old peat stations and to replace them with two new ESB peat plants at Lanesboro and Shannonbridge. Preparations for these two plants are on track. The operation of these new plants and the IVO plant in Edenderry will be the subject of a public service obligation, the finalisation of which is currently the subject of discussion with the EU Commission in Brussels.
