JOINT COMMITTEE ON COMMUNICATIONS, NATURAL RESOURCES AND AGRICULTURE díospóireacht -
Thursday, 3 May 2012

Sustainable Energy Act 2002: Motion

Chairman

Apologies have been received from Deputies Martin Heydon and Éamon Ó Cuív and Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill. May I remind members to switch their phones off completely. We will deal with the motion on the Sustainable Energy Act 2002 (Section 8(2)) Conferral of Additional Functions - Renewable Energy) Order 2012.

I welcome the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Pat Rabbittee and his officials. The motion before us has been referred by both Houses for consideration and members will have received a briefing note on it.

Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary practice to the effect that they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Deputy Pat Rabbitte)

I thank the Chairman. As I understand it, subject to correction, we are essentially only dealing with a statutory instrument that we enacted approximately this time last year. We are undoing it because my Department has discovered that the necessary formal resolution was not taken the last time. It concerns the conferring on the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland of additional functions in respect of information and training. There is a technical and procedural requirement to do it the right way by passing the resolution and reporting it to the House accordingly. I presume all the members of the joint committee have seen the actual statutory instrument. As a result of the directive, certain functions must be transposed. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is taking over that function. Some of the members will be familiar with the work of the authority since its enactment. It already has a fairly extensive list of duties and functions. The motion before the committee will give the authority an additional role in terms of information and training. It has been introduced in order to be procedurally correct in advance of the statutory instrument being laid before the House. If members have any questions on it, I will do my best to answer them.

Senator Paschal Mooney

I would like to ask a brief question about the use of the word "information" in this context. Am I right in suggesting that the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is involved in, or has embarked on, an information campaign to inform people? Is that the context in which the word "information" is being used? Is the Minister merely giving legal effect to that, more or less? Is it the case that the authority is doing this anyway but is now-----

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

Yes, that is right. The authority is doing this anyway. It is providing information, etc. The objectives of the authority are set out in the Sustainable Energy Act 2002, which provides that one of its first functions shall be "to promote and assist energy efficiency and renewable sources of energy". The Senator is quite right to suggest that the authority has, in effect, been doing this from the beginning. This statutory instrument confers specific additional duties on the authority in this regard.

Senator Paschal Mooney

Does this measure infer that the information campaign is to be ratcheted up, or is it purely a legal instrument? I appreciate that is a separate question.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

To be honest, I would not say the provision of information is being ramped up. The authority does a pretty good job in that respect. It is very accessible. Its website is especially good. This is more of a legal instrument than a suggestion that the authority will ramp up its normal furnishing of information.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

I understand the need for this measure. I accept it is a technical change. I would like to ask the Minister to do something. Perhaps it is not within the remit of this motion. I recently attended a meeting with workers from Irish Cement, who have alleged that Irish Cement has gained approximately €600 million through carbon refunds over the last ten years. Will the Minister examine the legislation? I do not think it was designed to help companies to make profits from carbon refunds.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

I will examine it. I suspect that the case mentioned by the Deputy probably relates to the rebate that exists for large energy users.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

It probably does.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

It is due to expire in September of this year.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

Will the Minister examine the matter?

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

I will indeed.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

It should not have happened.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

I will write to the Deputy.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

I thank the Minister.

Deputy Ann Phelan

My question relates to the fact that the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland is also a certification body. Will this measure have any retrospective effect on certification that the body has issued to date?

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

No, it will not. We have double-checked that. We have got clearance on that. It will not.

Deputy Ann Phelan

Okay.

Chairman

I take it that the joint committee recommends there should be no further debate on the motion by Dáil Éireann or Seanad Éireann. Is that agreed? Agreed. That concludes our consideration of the motion.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

I will be pleased to receive more invitations of this nature from the Chairman.

Chairman

This is the other extreme, compared to what we are used to.

Deputy Michael Colreavy

The Minister should not take this as a precedent.

Deputy Pat Rabbitte

No, I will not.

Chairman

It is a record. I thank the Minister.