Michael Fitzmaurice Questions Funding and Grass Use for AD Plants
Michael Fitzmaurice questioned planning and funding for anaerobic digestion (AD), raising concerns about grassland feedstock, grant levels and the status of planning guidelines. He pressed officials on what support developers — especially farm-scale projects — would receive and whether AD would affect food production.
The strategy includes an action to develop planning guidelines and engagement has begun with the Department of Housing. Bio-meeting is recognised in the National Planning Framework and in the National Planning and Development Act, but the guidelines are still in development and are not yet available to the commission.
Fitzmaurice said practical AD feedstock needs require grass at a certain height and large contiguous areas - citing the need for "500 or 600 acres" to be cut repeatedly. He reported that a committee visit heard biogas operators could not afford to pay for grass and argued that moving grass into AD could take land out of cattle production.
Officials outlined two support mechanisms in the National Biometering Strategy. The first grant was described as 20% of the bills up to a maximum of 5 million, with 18 projects allocated funding under that first grant; a figure of 40 million was referenced in discussion. Small-scale, farmer-led support was discussed as limited and described as "three or four million" in one exchange; there is an action in the strategy to consider a tailored small-scale grant and the minister secured further funding in the recent budget for a second grant round.
Speakers referenced the Renewable Energy Directive as setting strict sustainability requirements, including no impact on food security and limits on energy crops. The strategy cited roughly 0.8 to 1.5 terawatt hours of the 5.7 target as waste-based, with further increases likely to require agricultural feedstock. The renewable heat obligation will be open to suppliers and could be met by imports under the single market, but it also has a stated aim to support indigenous fuels.
Planning guidelines under development
The strategy includes an action to develop planning guidelines and engagement has begun with the Department of Housing. Bio-meeting is recognised in the National Planning Framework and in the National Planning and Development Act, but the guidelines are still in development and are not yet available to the commission.
Grassland as AD feedstock and food security
Fitzmaurice said practical AD feedstock needs require grass at a certain height and large contiguous areas - citing the need for "500 or 600 acres" to be cut repeatedly. He reported that a committee visit heard biogas operators could not afford to pay for grass and argued that moving grass into AD could take land out of cattle production.
Grants, funding and project allocations
Officials outlined two support mechanisms in the National Biometering Strategy. The first grant was described as 20% of the bills up to a maximum of 5 million, with 18 projects allocated funding under that first grant; a figure of 40 million was referenced in discussion. Small-scale, farmer-led support was discussed as limited and described as "three or four million" in one exchange; there is an action in the strategy to consider a tailored small-scale grant and the minister secured further funding in the recent budget for a second grant round.
Renewable Energy Directive and renewable heat obligation
Speakers referenced the Renewable Energy Directive as setting strict sustainability requirements, including no impact on food security and limits on energy crops. The strategy cited roughly 0.8 to 1.5 terawatt hours of the 5.7 target as waste-based, with further increases likely to require agricultural feedstock. The renewable heat obligation will be open to suppliers and could be met by imports under the single market, but it also has a stated aim to support indigenous fuels.
We publish thousands of recordings to make Irish politics transparent and resistant to manipulation. Spotted an error? Report it — together we are building a reliable archive of Irish politics.
Other speeches
Tego samego dnia All speeches from this day →
Richard O'Donoghue
Richard O'Donoghue Presses Taoiseach on 'Ghost Candidate' Cost
Carol Nolan
Carol Nolan urges greater focus on men's mental health
Paul Murphy
Paul Murphy: Demands direct presidential nominations, condemns assault
Shay Brennan
Shay Brennan highlights male suicide crisis, backs €2m counselling
Brian Stanley
Brian Stanley criticises 'dynamic deployment' in ambulance service
Sharon Keogan
Sharon Keogan Demands Transparency on Ukrainian Minors
Transcript
Concerns would be raised about regulation in the area, in the line of planning, that you could get a planning decision for you in one place, against you in another. Is there any specifics, be it for roads, be it to set back distances from houses no more than wind turbines, is there anything on that that you're looking at? The other question, you can answer that first and I'll go to the next question. So a key action within the strategy is that we develop guidelines in relation to planning, we started engagement with the Department of Housing in relation to that, bio-meeting is recognised in the National Planning Framework, it's recognised in the National Planning and Development Act, so it is in there already, so what we need to look at in relation to the guidelines is pulling all those various elements together, that local authorities have that information to have. Are those guidelines there for us to look at? Yep. I think there's one in, one's only been signed. No, the guidelines as per the actions are in development, they still need to be developed. And can the Commission see them? Not there, sure. We're still developing them. The second question is, you've stated in your submission about grassland moving to alternative things. My understanding, and I've followed AD for a good while, is that slurry is pretty good, chicken netter is pretty good, but we were out in BIA as a committee and they said they couldn't afford to pay for grass coming into it, right? And I wouldn't be an admirer if too much grass could intend them because we need it for cattle. The facts are, if I want to build an AD in the morning, what support will I get from your department? I can jump in there as well, because I know it came up in the last meeting and the one previous. The Renewable Energy Directive sets out very strict kind of requirements for the production of the gas for it to be determined and sustainable, and that includes that there can't be any impact on food security. There's a certain level of amount of energy crops that actually can go into the gas production. I think in the strategy, I think it's probably maybe a little bit off my figures, but it's around 0.8 terawatt hours up to around 1.5 of that 5.7 will be from waste-based. So that's what's already there, what's already available. Once you try and move up to get to the 5.7, you do have to shift into agriculture. But the heat study was where that target was found, and that was based on land that's already there and available. And it wasn't about changing in practices, it was about maximising practices that are already in place. So there wouldn't be an impact there on that. I just don't buy that with you, because the facts are, in studying AD, you need grass at a certain height. We're not going to go into every five-acre field for 40 miles around and pull five acres. You have to have 500 or 600 acres that you cut from one go, cut second go, cut third go, at a certain height, contractor appointed. That's taking grass out of production, to be quite frank about it, no matter how you dress it up. But I'd like to know, if I wanted to build an AD in the morning, what support will your department in funding? I'll take that. The National Biometering Strategy has looked at two support mechanisms for the development of AD plants. The first one is grants, the Department of Agriculture. How much? That's what I'm asking. It was 20% of the bills, to a maximum of 5 million. That was the first grant. How much of a pocket, how much of a purse is there? 40 million, and that was from repair. That's eight of them in a year, is that it? No, there was 18 projects allocated funding under that first grant. So some of them are smaller, is that it? Yeah, exactly. They range in size. And in the line of the farmer-led one, and Sean Finan was in here, and we have a very, you know, Brendan Galees is down near my neck of the woods, very successful. He has built one and it's impressive. The fund for that looks to be very low. Three or four million, is it, or something? How is it that you don't encourage more of that? I'm going to jump in there as well. There is an action, because obviously the strategy was developed in partnership with the Department of Agriculture, and it was for that reason as well. It wasn't seen as just wholly an energy project. It was seen as, it's also a feedstock production. And there's an action in there around small scale. So looking at what supports might be needed, yes. Much of the budget? There's no grant at the moment, as far as I know, but that's what's being looked at to actually... No grant? Not on the small scale side. Yeah, well, it's open to all AD developers, but there was limited small scale ones in the first grant. In the second grant, funding has been secured by the Minister O'Brien in the recent budget. And we will look at how we can maybe support or encourage more farm-based AD plants to be built, and basically be looking at that percentage. Can we maybe potentially up that percentage? So what you're generally looking at is large scale, is it? No. It's open to all AD developers, all scales. Yeah. It's just that we see that there is going to be a specific need for that farm-led or that smaller scale. It's a whole different model, so it needs a whole different tailored grant. But there is an action in there to do that. Is there an obligation coming in on the climate action plan that 10% of oil gas will have to be... Yeah. The renewable heat obligation, yeah. Am I right in saying that you have some dream of importing some of that? Is that right? No. At the moment, the obligation will be open, so it's the supplier who can choose to meet it, but obviously the obligation has... And can they bring it in from out abroad? At the moment, because we're operating in a single market for EU trade, you would have to allow that. But the obligation, it has a second aim to support indigenous fuels as well. And would you agree that it needs some bit of a poke in help if, at the moment, it's 4 cent, I think, per kilowatt hour, as against 16, roughly? That there's a huge difference. Would you think that it needs more funding from government to entice it? Because, like, people vote with their feet, and I know that there's an obligation coming in. When is that obligation coming in? The heads of bill have been approved by government. We're now in the drafting stage, and we're looking to have it implemented as early as possible in 2026. When is that roughly? Will it be 2030? No, 2026. We're trying to capture as much as 2026 as possible. So the obligation will be on every company? Thank you. Thank you. It feels better.