Amendment No. 1 arises out of committee proceedings. Amendments Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together by agreement.
Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 [Seanad] : Report and Final Stages
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 5, line 22, before "TO AMEND" to insert "FOR THOSE AND OTHER PURPOSES".
These technical amendments are inserted for clarification purposes.
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 2:
In page 5, line 24, after "1971," to insert "THE FUELS (CONTROL OF SUPPLIES) ACT 1982,".
Amendment agreed to.
I move amendment No. 3:
In page 6, to delete lines 1 to 4 and substitute the following:
"(3) This Part and sections 3 (in so far as it applies to sections 44A and 44B (both inserted by the said section 3) of the National Oil Reserves Agency Act 2007), 4, 5 and 16 come into operation on the date of the passing of this Act.”.
Amendment agreed to.
Amendments Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, 11, and 13 to 16, inclusive, are related. Amendments Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, are in the names of Deputies McManus and Sherlock. However, as the Deputies are not present, the amendments cannot be moved.
Amendments Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, not moved.
Amendment No. 8 arises out of committee proceedings. Amendments Nos. 8 and 9 are related and may be discussed together by agreement.
I move amendment No. 8:
In page 10, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:
"(b) the capacity of domestic producers to supply biofuel to meet domestic market demands,”.
The Minister will be familiar with these amendments which were debated on Committee Stage and a vote called on amendment No. 8 which, predictably, the Opposition lost. As such, I do not intend to delay proceedings unduly. My point is that when the Minister is determining whether we should amend the percentage of bio-fuel we mandate to be blended with carbon-based fuels like petrol and diesel, one of the issues he or she should factor in is the capacity of domestic producers to supply bio-fuels to meet that market demand. I hope the Minister has had an opportunity to consider the points I made on Committee Stage and that he may have changed his mind, although I suspect not.
The 2009 renewable energy directive set a 10% target for renewable energy in transport for all member states by 2020. This is a binding target and we must, therefore, be extremely careful about how we condition decisions to that end when undertaking a review of the rate of the bio-fuel obligation. The custom tariff policies referred to are for products being brought into the State from outside the European Union. Tariff policies are specific to individual member states and it would not be appropriate for me to consider policies in place in other member states when undertaking any review of the obligation rate. As I stated previously, the approach taken by Ireland to deliver on the target will ensure there is sustainable development of an Irish bio-fuels market in line with overall bio-fuel policy criteria and the relevant European Union directives. We are keen to see that happen but it is better achieved without being specific, as the Deputy proposes, but rather by maintaining the provisions as set out in the Bill.
On amendment No. 9, I am surprised that the Minister does not consider it appropriate for him or a future Minister to have regard to what other countries are doing in regard to tariff rates. Certain European Union countries are effectively creating an artificial market for bio-fuels by applying higher import tariffs than others. Germany, Spain and Portugal, for example, are applying a higher import tariff than, say, Britain on ethanol coming from Brazil. It makes sense that we would consider what is happening in other member states before making a decision on the percentage of bio-fuel coming from domestic production and what can be done to promote it. However, I accept the other points the Minister made.
The Bill provides that the Minister "may also have regard to such other matters as he or she considers appropriate relating to the effects, in any, of increased consumption of biofuel in the State on economic activities in the State and on the environment". In other words, there is already provision for us to consider broader issues and those issues will be taken into account by any Minister in such a review.
Amendment put and declared lost.
I move amendment No. 9:
In page 10, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:
"(c) the various custom tariff policies and other national policies adopted by EU member States to promote domestic production of biofuels to supply market demand,”.
Amendment put and declared lost.
Amendments Nos. 10 to 13, inclusive, not moved.
I move amendment No. 14:
In page 30, line 39, after "to" where it secondly occurs to insert "increase security of supply of transport fuels".
This amendment was grouped with amendment No. 4 and others but it was not taken with them. I will not make a big deal about this one. The purpose of this amendment is to try to get security of supply issues into the transport fuel debate. We spend a great deal of time here discussing security of supply and the Minister's Department spends a great deal of time trying to resolve issues around gas storage, oil storage and interconnection for security of supply and often we miss the point when it comes to security of supply for transport fuel because we import all of that too. In fact, we import more of that than in the case of electricity generation because we import practically everything for transport fuels, apart from the small amount of biofuel produced here. I thought it appropriate to put the security of supply issue into this legislation in page 30 under the bio-fuels standards. I hope the Minister will consider that.
No. Obviously, I consider that everything we are doing in this Bill is driven by a concern regarding future security of supply, particularly in the transport area. I see the impetus behind this amendment but in a section on bio-fuel standards I do not believe that strategic intent would sit with the remaining part of the section and therefore I do not intend to include it.
Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.
Amendment Nos. 15 to 17, inclusive, not moved.
Before we finalise the debate on the Bill, I welcome the fact that the Minister has decided not to introduce a very large amendment on a carbon levy on energy generators to address an issue I have been raising for some time with the Minister and which, to be fair, has been with the Attorney General's office for some time. The Minister might give us an indication as to when we are likely to see that legislation in a separate Bill rather than as an amendment to this legislation, which is a separate issue. I understand the Department has been working overtime to try to make that happen. I appreciate that because we want to try to get it in place before the summer recess. My party will try to facilitate that as best we can. We may have some differences of opinion in terms of the detail of the legislation but the principle is one we support.
As a result of the Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and in conjunction with what the Minister announced yesterday regarding refit tariffs for the biomass and bio-fuels industry in terms of energy generation, I hope we will soon see new tariffs coming into play for microgeneration and micro-CHP also. An exciting new industry is developing here which this Bill supports by guaranteeing a marketplace for bio-fuels in Ireland. The challenge for us as policymakers is to ensure we maximise the benefit of that bio-fuel for domestic industry and domestic producers, and I believe we are going some way to doing that. I welcome the legislation and the debate we have had on it to date. I look forward to seeing the new legislation on the carbon levy that was to be attached to this legislation but now will be a Bill in its own right.
I join Deputy Coveney in commending the officials on the work that has been done on this Bill, which is an extensive piece of legislation. We are a small Department but I believe we are a talented Department and take on important economic, security and environmental issues. This is an example of the work we do that is of a very high standard, and I want to commend the officials in particular on the work they have done in that regard.
It is important legislation and part of a series of measures towards a changed energy future for this country, one that is more dependent on our own natural resources and therefore more secure in terms of pricing and threats to the planet from emissions. In this Bill we are establishing the opportunity for Irish farming to have a new market to sell into, which is a crucial element in what we are doing. It has not been an easy market to get into. In any country there are sensitive issues around land use effects and food price effects of the development of biofuels. We must continue to be very alert to what is happening in that market but I believe the provisions set out in this legislation, which backs up what is happening in Europe, allow us do that in a sustainable way. I thank Members on all sides of the House for their assistance, in the Seanad as well as in the Dáil, in getting this Bill through the Houses.
On the other issue Deputy Coveney mentioned, namely, the introduction of a carbon levy, I was happy that the approach we were taking was appropriate. My officials had done a great deal of work clearing it and ensuring it was the right way to proceed but when the Whip told me last week that he would prefer if it were done in a separate Bill, I was happy to accept his viewpoint. I went to Cabinet this morning with a Bill set out in that manner containing the provisions we had intended to include in a Committee Stage amendment. That Bill is ready to go for publishing. I believe it takes a day or two to print and publish the Bill but that will be done immediately and I hope to get it into the Dáil as soon as possible, possibly next week. I appreciate Deputy Coveney's comments that he would be willing to facilitate the passage of the Bill, subject to amendments Deputies opposite may want to propose. I hope we will be able to get it passed by the Houses before the end of this term and therefore be able to implement our policy objective.
I am glad we have taken a major step in the right direction with our Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and I thank the House for the help in that regard.
Bill reported with amendments.
When is it proposed to take Fifth Stage?
Now.
Question, "That the Bill do now pass", put and agreed to.
The Bill, which is considered to be initiated in Dáil Éireann in accordance with Article 20.2.2o of the Constitution, will be sent to the Seanad.