Vol. 876 No. 1
6. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the amount Ireland will have to pay in annual fines if it does not meet the European Union Directive target of 12% of heating coming from renewable sources, by 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16283/15]
This question relates to the requirement under European Union legislation to achieve a target of generating 12% of energy in the heat sector from renewable sources by 2020 and the level of fines that may be levelled against Ireland if we do not reach the target.
The 2009 EU renewable energy directive set Ireland a legally binding target of meeting 16% of our overall energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. To meet this target Ireland is committed to achieving a 40% renewable energy contribution in electricity, 12% in heat and 10% in transport. In 2013, some 7.8% of Ireland's overall energy requirement was met by renewable energy with renewables accounting for 5.7% of the energy in the heat sector.
Measures currently in place, including Part L of the building regulations and the combined heat and power supported under the REFIT 3 scheme, are expected to increase the uptake of heat from renewable sources. However, analysis by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, suggests that in the absence of further measures, a shortfall of between 2 and 4 percentage points could emerge in the renewable heat sector. This would represent between 1 and 2 percentage points in terms of the overall renewable energy target. Any shortfall in meeting the overall renewable energy target in 2020 would need to be addressed by purchasing so-called renewable energy credits from another member state. While the cost of such credits has yet to be established, the SEAI has estimated it could be in the range of between €100 million and €150 million per percentage point shortfall. This means a shortfall in the heat sector could cost between €200 million and €300 million in renewable energy credits. There could also be penalties associated with any shortfall.
Analysis underpinning the draft bioenergy plan published in October last year indicates that an additional bioenergy focused measure in the heat sector would constitute the most cost-effective means of meeting a number of different policy goals, including addressing the potential shortfall in our renewable heat levels. The draft plan recommends the introduction of a renewable heat incentive in 2016 to incentivise larger heat users in the industrial and commercial sector to change to heating solutions that produce heat from renewable sources.
Will the Minister clarify whether countries with a shortfall will be required to purchase energy credits on an annual basis? If so, the Exchequer will face a significant annual cost for failing to meet its target. Does the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland or Department have plans to produce an incentive for home owners to switch to renewable sources of heat? The previous system of grant aid for home owners was abolished. It would be in all our interests to encourage home owners as well as large businesses to avail of the benefits of using renewable energy for heating. The focus always seems to be on providing incentives to business, while neglecting home owners.
It is not clear to what extent the cost arising from any shortfall in meeting the targets by 2020 would be an ongoing one. I would prefer to leave that matter and perhaps discuss it with Deputy Pringle subsequent to this engagement.
The Deputy raises an interesting issue in respect of renewable generation of heat in the domestic sector. It is not that the case that we want to favour big business or larger operations. However, when the Government intervenes by providing incentives it wants to obtain a return and larger-scale projects tend to provide a greater return. That is the issue that arises in respect of the domestic sector. The analysis I have seen suggests it would not be cost-effective or efficient at this stage to introduce a new renewable heat incentive for domestic users.
I am a little concerned that the Minister wishes to leave the question as to whether the fine in the case of a shortfall would be imposed every year. Surely the need to purchase energy credits should be a major incentive to the State to achieve its targets, especially as the potential cost to the Exchequer is €300 million per annum. With a little imagination - the use of clustering, for example - the domestic element could play a significant role in achieving the renewable energy target for heat. If we are to raise awareness of renewable energy sources and build a society that takes a proactive approach to renewable energy generation, we should ensure domestic users can avail of any incentives that are provided. While I accept the point the Minister makes on the issue of scale, he appears to be focused on easy targets rather than seeking a change in culture or to develop a sense of the importance of renewable energy sources. It seems to be a case of making an easy buck and trying to benefit businesses.
The Deputy is correct. I would not like him to interpret anything I said as an effort to underplay the real risk and threat posed by fines and penalties if we do not meet the renewable energy targets that have been set. I would not like anything I said to be interpreted in that way. Any shortfall in meeting our target would have a cost and we need to ensure we apply a high level of imagination, not only in the business and larger scale sectors but also in the domestic environment. However, the point I was making was that we must constantly assess the cost of incentives and balance their impact with the cost incurred through Exchequer investment.
This issue highlights the importance of pulling together all the strands of Deputies' experience and their views and insights on what should be the proper mix of incentives and supports to be put in place for renewable energy across the board. We have spoken a great deal about electricity. The Deputy is correct, however, that we must also discuss heat and transport because they are part of the picture.
7. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views on the Irish Postmasters' Union's Six Point Plan to sustain the post office network and support local communities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16285/15]
The programme for Government of 2011 included a commitment to maintain the post office network. The Department of Social Protection recently sent out letters to 7,000 pensioners and other social welfare recipients encouraging them to switch to direct funds transfer into their bank accounts. What is the Government doing to protect the post office network and the vital services it provides in rural communities?
Issues relating to the post office network, including opening or closing of post offices, are operational matters for the management and board of An Post and an area in which I do not have a function. I note, however, the recent publication of a six-point plan by the Irish Postmasters Union. The plan aligns with the Government’s consistent message that a strong, modern and commercially viable post office network that is responsive to changing consumer choices is essential for urban and rural communities alike.
Taking account of changes in technology and general retail behaviour, significant challenges face the post office network. To answer the Deputy's question as to what the Government is doing in this regard, I established the post office network business development group earlier this year, of which the Irish Postmasters' Union is a member. The terms of reference for the group are to examine the potential from existing and new Government and commercial business that could be transacted through the post office network; identify the new business opportunities for the post office network, taking account of international experience; engage as necessary with the public sector, commercial bodies and other interested parties in pursuit of the aforementioned objectives; and prepare an interim and final report for the Minister in accordance with an agreed timetable.
The work of the group will be of strategic importance to the future of the post office network and I look forward to it concluding its deliberations later this year. It is in everyone's interest that we have a sustainable post office network, one which meets the needs of the consumer first and foremost. Our collective challenge will be to ensure the future services offered by An Post and the postmasters place the company on a sound financial footing.
All Members are interested in protecting post offices. Since 2006 in Wexford alone, ten post offices have closed, namely Tomhaggard, Pallas, Crossabeg, Ballymurn, Ballyhoe, Gusserane, Ballycarney, Castledockrell, Duncormick, Ballymitty and Rathnure. That is devastating for a county which has 24% unemployment, double the national suicide rate and is in the top five for illiteracy rates and teenage pregnancies. I know this is not all down to the closure of post offices but it adds to the problem. There is a serious devastation of rural areas in Wexford and other parts of the country.
The Minister can examine the different initiatives for the post office. However, when he claims it is an operational matter for An Post, he is passing responsibility. The Government must be proactive and decide that no more post offices will close. It should even examine re-opening some of them. It may not be financially attractive in many cases but the social benefit has to be considered, not ignored.
I am certainly not ignoring it and I am conscious of the importance of a vibrant post office network. That is why I set up this review group under the chairmanship of Mr. Bobby Kerr to report to me. I will be meeting him next week to see how he is getting on with the work he is doing. He is approaching this in an enthusiastic way and the Irish Postmasters Union is co-operating with the exercise.
There are 51 post offices in County Wexford with four postal agencies providing Department of Social Protection payments. The Deputy gave a list of closures since 2006. Since 2009, five post offices have closed in the county. I am not walking away from the importance he attaches to this agenda. I am confident and hopeful that the business review group will pull together several different ideas. Mr. Kerr has great retail experience and there are others participating in group. We have to ensure the post office network survives in a sustainable way and can be commercially viable, as well as socially significant.
If the Department of Social Protection is actually writing letters that will undermine the potential of the post office network to continue to be sustainable, then there is a serious lack of joined-up thinking in the Government. The Minister claims he is in favour of keeping post offices while the Department of Social Protection sends out letters that will undermine them.
I accept most of the damage was done by the Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government and that the Minister is not responsible for all closures. However, they have not stopped on his watch which is a concern for people. Will the Minister consider amending the current structure and putting in place a policy and legislation which recognises the post office network is a national asset? This will give the Government a bit more hands-on control over what An Post does, rather than saying all this is an operational matter for the company. If it remains an operational matter for An Post, I believe it is determined to close as many rural post offices as possible because there is no money in it. The Government must recognise the social benefit of post offices and prevent An Post from closing them.
We do recognise that. That is why we put together this group to see what are the best steps that can be taken to ensure the post office network actually survives. It should survive and there is every reason it will survive.
The Department of Social Protection contract for cash payments to welfare customers is for a minimum period of two years and may be extended up to the end of December 2019. The Department intends to move to e-payments for most social welfare clients in the medium term. Part of this process involves undertaking an e-payment procurement and An Post could pitch for this business. It is not possible to be definitive at this stage but the value of the contract will more than likely be less than the value of the current contract. Processing e-payments is cheaper than cash transactions.
These are difficult dilemmas. Does one introduce new technologies that are more efficient overall? I can see there are competing imperatives in this case. We want to keep the post office network but we need it to be efficient. We want to expand broadband in rural villages and towns. As Deputy Moynihan said, there is frustration that it has not being done quickly enough. We have to find a way for the post office network to co-exist with the new technologies people use in their homes and to deal with the change in the pattern of retail behaviour which the Deputy must see himself in County Wexford.
I will allow two supplementary questions from Deputies Moynihan and Colreavy.
I want to put this on the record of the House. I received a letter from the Ceann Comhairle today. I had put down a question to the Minister to provide an update on-----
That is not a point of order.
-----of recent discussions with the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection on letters sent to welfare recipients requesting them to switch collecting their payments from local post offices to having them paid directly into bank accounts. That letter is a source of concern to every single postmaster. I asked the question but I am at a loss as to why it cannot be allowed on the record of the House.
The letter is all doublespeak.
The Deputy will have to raise that matter another way. Does he have a supplementary?
Letters were sent out from the Department of Social Protection requesting people to switch their payments from the post office to the banks. Surely that undermines the post office network in a determined way. If there is a whole-of-government approach to maintain the post office network, how did this letter go out from a Department?
The Minister did not mention when he anticipates the report from the business development review group for the post office network. An interdepartmental group was established to examine this matter too. Will there be a separate report from that group? When does the Minister anticipate this report will be provided?
I am meeting Mr. Kerr on 11 May to get a progress report from him as to where matters are at. I expect sometime in the summer to have this report. I do not want to give a specific date but there is some urgency about bringing this forward. I would hope that by the summer we would have his report and we can then debate the issue in the House.
Deputy Moynihan is correct. The Department of Social Protection recently issued 2,800 letters to recipients of State pensions as part of a communications exercise with people about payment options. Initially it had been envisioned that 7,000 customers would be contacted. The Department of Social Protection has no plans to issue further letters at this stage. The customers were randomly selected and invited to consider receiving their welfare payments directly into an account in a financial institution. The invitation was entirely voluntary. All payment options continue to be fully available to all customers where relevant. No customer with a social welfare entitlement will remain unpaid by virtue of not being able to receive a payment electronically.
8. Deputy Michael Colreavy asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his plans to establish a scheme to allow micro generation units to provide electricity to the national grid, and to compensate the providers for the electricity that they produce. [16291/15]
The renewable electricity feed-in tariff, REFIT, schemes are the principal means of supporting renewable electricity generators for renewable energy exported to the grid. These schemes support electricity generated from a range of renewable sources including small scale hydro, biomass and wind. Based around power purchase agreements between generators and electricity suppliers, REFIT schemes assure a minimum price for each unit of electricity exported to the grid over a 15-year period. Small scale renewable generation is eligible to apply for support under the REFIT schemes.
The SEAI, Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, provides a range of supports to businesses and home owners in the deployment of renewable energy technologies including training and advice. Businesses and home owners wishing to develop renewable energy projects can also avail of grant support for investment in renewable energy installations under the better energy communities and better energy homes schemes respectively.
In the context of the forthcoming definitive energy policy paper, the Department is considering matters relating to Ireland's fuel mix including the role of microgeneration. Analysis of the potential of microgeneration technologies such as small scale wind, solar, including photovoltaic, and small scale hydro, has been carried out by the SEAI. Its findings, along with responses to the recent consultation on the Green Paper on Energy Policy in Ireland, will inform future policy on the provision of any market support for microgeneration. The views will be taken into consideration in preparation of the definitive White Paper on energy which will be finalised in September.
Given the emerging policy context and the requirements of the EU target market for electricity, my Department is also in the process of developing a new support scheme for electricity to be available from 2016 onwards. A key component of this will be consideration of the available technologies including solar technologies, their cost effectiveness and the level of support required. The scheme will be subject to state-aid clearance and the initial public consultation on the new scheme will commence shortly.
I thank the Minister for his reply. There was a scheme whereby people could micro-generate electricity and connect to the grid. I think the producers were paid 16 cent per kilowatt/hour, but that scheme was scrapped. That 16 cent payment normally came off the overall electricity bill, so there were reduced bills for households. Those customers were doing the right thing in accordance with Government policy for promoting renewable energy.
I have received many calls, as I am sure other TDs have, from people who asked whether the scheme would be replaced with a better one. We should accelerate the promotion of micro-generation for small and large industries, villages and householders. We should always reward people for doing the right thing.
The scheme to which the Deputy refers was provided by Electric Ireland, which had been offering a micro-generation feed-in pilot since February 2009. It is true that on 31 December 2014, that pilot scheme was closed to new customers, although the scheme will remain open to existing Electric Ireland customers until 31 December 2015. No other supplier had chosen to provide such a tariff either to domestic or commercial customers, although they had been invited to do so by the regulator. The Department is not aware of the reasons for the decision to discontinue the scheme, which would have been a commercial call by Electric Ireland.
Responsibility for the regulation of the electricity and gas markets is a matter for the Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, which is an independent statutory body.
I understand that but I imagine that a Government statement of policy would influence how companies approach this matter. Perhaps they need to be nudged and encouraged a little bit.
Section 10A of the Electricity (Regulation) Act 1999 provides that I, as Minister, may give general policy directives from time to time, but I am expressly precluded from giving any policy direction in respect of any individual undertaking or person. It is therefore not open to me to do that.
I do not want to take from the broader point, however. The Deputy said that people should always be rewarded for doing the right thing, which is fair. In our energy policy we must try to involve citizens who want to do the right thing and contribute. I want to ensure that in the White Paper this year we have got a real sense of involving the citizen, whether as a consumer or a supplier, where the opportunity is there for us to put those supports in place. It is not without difficulty and there is a scale issue, as I discussed with Deputy Pringle earlier. However, we must take big, bold steps in order to reach our targets but we must also ensure that we bring citizens with us. We should do our best to support those who wish to make a contribution. It will feature in the White Paper.
9. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources further to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 446 of 15 July 2014 and 579 of 7 October 2014, if he is aware that there has been no improvement in mobile telephone coverage in areas such as County Cavan and County Monaghan; if, as requested previously, he and the Commission for Communications Regulator will convey to the relevant telecommunications companies the need to upgrade such coverage to provide an appropriate service to their customers, due to the ongoing concern over the past two years, regarding the deterioration in the quality of service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16213/15]
For almost two years, mobile phone coverage has been appalling in the Cavan-Monaghan area. It is constantly deteriorating and is a cause of utter frustration and concern to those using mobile phones both for social and commercial purposes. There is an obvious need for investment in mobile telephony infrastructure.
Licences issued by ComReg require mobile network operators to provide a minimum level of national population coverage. Operators tend to exceed these coverage requirements for commercial reasons. However, as mobile services are a radio-based technology, services can be affected by topography, quality of handsets, capacity of the network, and proximity to mobile telephone antennae.
Any customer who experiences service difficulties should raise the matter with the service provider in the first instance. If this fails to resolve matters, customers can refer a complaint to ComReg, which will investigate the service provider’s compliance with its contractual obligations.
I have referred the issues raised by the Deputy to ComReg, which is responsible for monitoring mobile operators’ compliance with licence terms and conditions. I know the Deputy has raised this issue before. In response, ComReg stated that in the last year, the number of contacts it received regarding network coverage in Cavan and Monaghan represented a small percentage of overall contacts received in relation to network coverage. This does not quite tally with what the Deputy is saying, but I do not doubt him. ComReg states that there has not been an upsurge in complaints compared with previous periods.
Officials in my Department have also contacted mobile phone operators directly. At least one operator has stated that disruptions may have been experienced during an upgrading of their Monaghan network in 2014, and that further upgrades are now under way in Cavan. These upgrades should, however, enhance the quality of mobile services in those counties.
While investment in communications infrastructure and services is primarily a matter for the private sector, the Government recognises that it has a role in ensuring that barriers to investment are removed where possible. The national broadband plan, published in 2012, commits to a range of actions that will facilitate more efficient investment in the roll-out of communications infrastructure.
Specifically, a working group chaired by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport - including representatives from my Department, the Local Government Management Agency, the National Roads Authority, and local authorities - has been considering ways to address barriers to the deployment of services. The group will shortly publish a document relating to the location of telecommunications infrastructure on public roads, particularly motorways, with a view to reducing black-spots.
Local authorities also have an important role to play in assisting the roll-out of supporting infrastructure. My Department has worked closely with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to raise awareness of the role of the planning process in delivering telecommunications infrastructure and services. We will continue to focus our efforts on addressing barriers to deployment in order to facilitate continued investment and roll-out of enhanced services.
I thank the Minister for his reply. I appreciate that he has referred my queries to ComReg, but I would appreciate it if he would ask ComReg to take a particular interest in the Cavan-Monaghan area. The Minister of State, Deputy McHugh, agreed with me here a few weeks ago that, as he travels along the N2 or N3 back to the north-west, the coverage is appalling. If one is on the phone for a minute or two the call drops. It is a constant source of concern, as well as placing an additional cost on the consumer.
The Minister referred to co-operation with the planning authorities in regard to infrastructure that might be put in place by mobile phone companies. Those companies have a lot to learn about the co-location of transmission infrastructure, however. It is essential that the people who pay a heavy price for using mobile phones should have an adequate and appropriate standard of coverage.
In 2014, we were promised that roaming mobile phone charges would be abolished. Sadly, however, EU communications Ministers gave in to the international telephone companies and deferred the abolition of mobile phone roaming charges, which is to be reconsidered in 2018. It was an appalling decision and a total imposition on the consumer. Once again, the international mobile phone corporations got their way at the expense of EU consumers, including Irish ones.
As regards the Deputy's last point, no final decisions have been made on that.
It has been deferred from this year.
Despite what appeared in the press, no final decisions have been made in that regard. I can assure the Deputy of that, as I am a member of the EU Council that deals with that issue.
As I mentioned earlier, we have referred the Deputy's concerns to ComReg. I have come across this issue in one or two other parts of the country as well, and I do not doubt anything the Deputy says. While it is time consuming, it can help enormously to carry out a systematic assessment of where the problem is occurring, as well as documenting how often the problem has occurred and listing particular black spots. The Deputy may have done this already or perhaps he might think that it should not have to be done, but such data could assist enormously in achieving a credible and reliable response. Specific details would certainly help, but I am not doubting the Deputy for a second.
When someone rings a public utility company the process is frustrating. They are asked to press button X, Y or Z but they cannot get through to anybody and they hang up. The genuine grievances of customers, therefore, are not being recorded because of the frustration in trying to speak to a member of staff of, say, ComReg or the telephone companies. Telephone companies are in the communications business. I do not know of any other sector that is as poor at communicating or being available to take a message from their customers as the mobile phone companies. If a Member rings Eircom on behalf of a constituent they have to go around the world, so to speak, before they can get somebody to take their query or representation. A message should go from the Minister on behalf of the Government that these communications companies should make it much easier for customers to get in contact with them and speak to a person, hopefully a person on the island of Ireland rather than someone overseas.
I agree that all providers of services should be fully accessible to customers. That is a fair point but the point I was making was that if the Deputy, or anyone in the House, is aware of particular areas where there is a continuing problem - he referred to Cavan and Monaghan and I understand what he means in that it is a fairly broad area - and if there are specific black spots where an individual has documented that there is a drop-out or a constant problem, that would make it easier for me to pursue that issue as a specific problem.
One of the major operators has informed my Department that its customers in Monaghan would have experienced disruption in their voice services while it was upgrading the network. If there is a drop-off or a problem in a particular area and we are told by the operator that there is an upgrading going on we will be able to see whether those two things match up. Can we answer the problem people have by what is being said by the operator?
Questions Nos. 10 and 11 are in the names of Deputies Bernard Durkan and John Browne. The Deputies are not present.
12. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the order by which locations will be selected for works, as part of the national broadband plan, in view of areas such as those covered by the Knockferry exchange in County Galway, for example, which were inexplicably omitted from the national broadband scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16289/15]
This question relates to the order in which locations will be selected for works under the national broadband plan in view of areas such as those covered by the Knockferry exchange in County Galway, for example, being excluded in the previous national broadband scheme.
The national broadband plan aims to ensure that every citizen and business, regardless of location, has access to a high quality, high speed broadband service. This will be achieved through a combination of commercial investments and a State-led intervention in areas where commercial services will not be provided.
The commercial telecommunications sector is currently investing approximately €2.5 billion in network upgrades and enhanced services with approximately 1.6 million of the 2.3 million premises in Ireland expected to have access to commercial high speed broadband services over the next two years.
Last November I published a national high speed coverage map for 2016. That map is available. The areas marked BLUE represent areas that will have access to the commercial sector. The AMBER areas show the target areas for the State intervention and include Knockferry in the townland of Knock North.
Members of the public can consult the map to establish for themselves the precise location and status of their individual premises.
Intensive design and planning work is under way in my Department to produce a detailed intervention strategy for the AMBER area which as I said includes the particular location referred to by the Deputy. Following a public consultation process on the draft intervention strategy this summer, I hope to move to formal procurement phase towards the end of this year in order to select a preferred bidder or bidders. The order by which locations throughout the country will be selected for delivery of service will be determined in consultation with the winning bidder or bidders.
I anticipate that the first homes and businesses will be connected in 2016 and connections will continue thereafter, with the intention of having all premises connected within a five year period. Ultimately, every premises in Ireland will have access to reliable high speed broadband as a consequence of this initiative.
This complex and ambitious project is a key priority for me and for the Government and aims to conclusively address current broadband connectivity issues in mainly rural parts of the country.
I thank the Minister for the reply. It goes without saying that the deficiencies in rural broadband are impacting on jobs, impeding regional recovery and depriving consumers from getting the best value in regard to broadband. I commend the Minister on the plans we have to roll out broadband and go to tender by the end of the year. It is an important and ambitious programme. Previous broadband plans looked good on paper. There were nice, glossy maps but they did not deliver to many areas near me, which are only seven or eight miles from Galway city, such as Tullykyne, Knockferry, Collinamuck and others which are as deserving of broadband as anywhere else. Has the Minister received the state aid permission from the European Union or when is that likely to come? Does he envisage that that may be a stumbling block or something that is a formality?
There are two phases in regard to the application for state aid. One is the prenotification process and the other is the formal notification process. We are currently in the prenotification process and I expect to get to the formal notification process by Quarter 4. We can do that in parallel with all the other work we are doing to move to the tender and the culmination of the procurement process in terms of finding a bidder or bidders. The importance of the prenotification process in regard to state aids is that we can do a huge amount of preparatory work to ensure that when the formal application is made, many of the questions that might arise from the Commission will have already been addressed or substantially addressed.
My Department is working closely on this. The state aids application is only one aspect of it because we have to work out, and it touches on the Deputy's question, issues to do with the likely governance arrangements in respect of the successful bidder. In terms of the ownership model we put in place, will the bidder own the network? The funding issues are very live and there is the question of funding and planning in respect of that. All the technical and regulatory questions are being dealt with in parallel by teams of advisers working to my national broadband plan team within the Department.
There is an enormous amount of work going on but by late summer we should be reaching the formal notification process for state aid application. There are different experiences of different countries but I hope that then could be expedited quickly.
I thank the Minister for that. Is he confident there will be no delay in the tendering by the end of the year? Also, does he have a preference for the areas that are chosen first? Would they be the areas with the highest population or the areas closer to urban centres?
Unfortunately, we cannot come to a conclusion with regard to the order. That is something we would have to settle with the successful bidder or bidders. That is not something we can do in advance but as I said to Deputy Moynihan earlier, I publish a report every month and I will be publishing the May report at the end of this week or early next week. I am able to show each month what we have done in the previous month and what we plan to do in the coming period. We set out timelines last November-December when we published the map, and I have no reason to believe at this stage that there has been any slippage in the plan and intention of going to procurement by the end of this year.
13. Deputy Michael Moynihan asked the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the value for money of subsidies for wind energy on consumer energy bills; if these subsides will be continued, post 2017; the amount, on average, that wind subsidies contribute to consumer electricity bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16192/15]
I ask the Minister the value for money of subsidies for wind energy on consumer energy bills; if these subsidies will be continued post-2017; the amount, on average, that wind subsidies contribute to consumer electricity bills; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The renewable electricity feed-in tariff, REFIT, schemes are the principal means of supporting renewable electricity generators for renewable energy exported to the grid. Based around power purchase agreements between generators and electricity suppliers, REFIT schemes assure a minimum price for each unit of electricity exported to the grid over a 15 year period. Projects seeking support under REFIT must apply by the end of 2015 and will be required to meet certain deliverables in the period up to September 2018 in accordance with the terms and conditions available on my Department’s website. While the majority of projects supported under these schemes are for wind generation, the subsidies are not currently broken down by technology. The Commission for Energy Regulation, CER, has initiated a project to generate a report on the annual and cumulative costs to date in relation to REFIT schemes for each technology supported under REFIT.
REFIT has been found to be a very cost effective tool to support renewables development, as indicated by a report published by the Council of European Energy Regulators earlier this year. This finding of cost effectiveness is aligned with various reports and analyses which have examined the effect of renewables on electricity prices. The ESRI, the Irish Wind Energy Association, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, and EirGrid have all undertaken studies and published the results of same. Analysis undertaken by my Department, the SEAI, EirGrid and the CER has assessed the costs and value of choosing the path towards 40% renewable electricity generation in 2020 compared to a scenario where renewable electricity remained at 2013 levels. This analysis has informed a report which I mentioned earlier will be published shortly.
My Department is developing a new support scheme that takes account of the structure of the electricity market which will operate in Ireland from 2016 onwards. The scheme will be subject to state aid clearance and undergo an appropriate public consultation process.
The PSO levy is the overall support mechanism for generation constructed for the development of renewable electricity and is determined each year by CER. I circulate with the Official Report a table setting out the costs for overall renewable generation since 2010/11:
|
Year |
PSO funding for Renewables (€ Million) |
|
2014/15 |
94.3 |
|
2013/14 |
49.0 |
|
2012/13 |
64.8 |
|
2011/12 |
41.6 |
|
2010/11 |
52.2 |
The Minister referred to the Commission for Energy Regulation preparing a report on subsidies and so forth. When is the report likely to be published? What are the details of that?
I hope to publish the quadrilateral report shortly. I know that "shortly" is a term of art in the Chamber.
The Minister used it a few times today.
By "shortly" I mean in a short period of weeks.
We look forward to it.
