Exporting energy - Questions remain

We have another, as if it was needed, issue to polarise society.

Though the divisions are not as virulent as those on other subjects the proposal to develop large-scale windfarms in the Midlands and export energy to Britain has provoked wildly contrasting reactions.

Yesterday, Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte and his British counterpart Ed Davey signed a deal to pave the way for Irish windfarms to export to Britain. The deal can be welcomed because it advances the role of renewable energy and because it will provide some jobs, though maybe not as many as is suggested.

There are valid questions too, as there always are when Ireland’s natural resources are used to satisfy international demand. There are questions around why the project is not being built where the energy will be used and why the energy will not be used to cut our energy costs and unsustainable dependence on imports.

Are international corporations using our relatively lax planning laws, as they use our tax laws, in a way that suits them but not us? If these fears are groundless then Government should make that argument more convincingly than they have. As yet, and as in other areas where projects unacceptable elsewhere are proposed for Ireland, they have not made an entirely convincing case.