Professor Alan Barrett:

I will give a couple of quick responses. On this issue of the ESRI lacking ambition, it is important we are clear on the role of the ESRI. The ESRI is not setting policy. What we try to do is provide inputs into the policy process. In terms of the modelling work we conduct, on the analysis we have done on the carbon tax, for example, one of the main points to come out of it was precisely the point the Deputy made, that it is totally inadequate to get us where we need to go. In terms of the work we have done where we are examining, the retrofit policies, for example, the other point we are making is that very often a pricing approach is not enough. The ESRI does not write the national development plan. We comment on and we have an input at a particular level. I do not think it is necessarily up to us to set the national ambition.

I will move on from that to the questions the Deputy raised on whether it is the case that we are vastly behind where we need to be. We are, absolutely. As we input into the figures, we are very conscious that Ireland is nowhere near the sort of levels of achievement we have set out. I do not think there is necessarily any disagreement.

On the carbon tax issue, I thought I was quite clear in my opening statement that 15 to 20 years ago when I started my career, an economist would have focused on taxes, but we have moved way beyond that for a number of reasons. For the sorts of issues we have discussed, we know that the world is much more complicated and there needs to be a much wider set of design features. The other thing, and I am not sure if this came across in my opening statement, is that we are conscious of the fact the challenge now is so enormous that one cannot rely on a single policy instrument at all. There needs to be a multiplicity of interventions to see that we arrive where we want. I do not believe there is any disagreement between us on the scale of the challenge. However, the role of the ESRI in this is a little bit different.