Dr. Rory O'Donnell:

I will respond to the first matter raised by the Deputy. Perhaps Dr. O'Connell will respond to the other issues. I understand the point the Deputy has made about the carbon tax. I would like to clarify our approach to the carbon tax and the role of the carbon tax in climate change policy. In other countries, the willingness and ability to impose carbon taxes and-or heavy emissions trading caps has historically been closely linked to the availability of alternatives. The strategy we are talking about does not involve forcing the transport sector, for example, into change through the heavy imposition of taxes. We are saying that a gradual increase in the tax needs to be accompanied by measures which make the alternatives more available and attractive. For example, we can take vigorous action to encourage gas to be used in vehicle transport. The strategy is not based on increasing prices heavily to force people to make changes. Gradual tax increases, which can act as a disincentive to certain kinds of activity, must be combined with action to make alternatives available.