Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone who has contributed to this worthwhile debate. I thank the witnesses for providing some assistance to us. I would like to reflect on what they have said. Mr. Curtin has set out a number of policy options for us to consider as legislators. While I might disagree with some aspects of his proposals for addressing our 2030 requirements, in particular, I think it would be useful to have a debate on them. Maybe the committee will have an opportunity to discuss them in more detail after today.

I would like to go back to what Dr. Ryan has said. If I had paid a little more heed to him when I was in college and he was trying to teach me, I might not have to ask these questions. His interesting modelling has shown that even with the best-case scenario, we will be above the line and therefore in breach of our commitments by 2018 or 2019. Can the Department give us some indication of what the cost implications of that would be for us? What would be the implications in pounds, shillings and pence?

Has modelling been done on additional measures or policies in other areas which, if implemented, could help us avoid breaching our targets for 2020? Has modelling been done on the various policy options available to achieve the 2030 targets? I ask the witnesses to communicate to the joint committee, after the meeting if necessary, a list of the various options available and the implications of adopting them, broken down on a percentage basis, for example, if we adopted 50% of one option or 70% of another. It would assist the committee if we had a comprehensive model setting out how we could achieve our commitments while allowing the economy to flourish to the greatest possible extent. We need to remain on or slightly below the line, as it were, in order that we do not further damage the environment and avoid the penalties associated with missing our targets.