Professor John FitzGerald:

In the construction sector, 6% of our emissions come from cement. It is not possible to get rid of carbon dioxide. It is part of the process. If we want to reduce emissions, we must use timber. That was discussed earlier. Cement is covered by the ETS scheme. At present, producers have to pay €100 per tonne of carbon emitted. However, they get some free allowances. As we move to auctioning and they have to pay for the full allowances, a carbon-border adjustment tax will be needed. If we do not have one and if, for example, the UK is not in the ETS scheme and does not have an equivalent price - although the UK has an ETS, and prices are currently broadly similar - if the price was very different, we would shut down our cement industry in the Republic of Ireland and import cement from Fermanagh or wherever, which would not be the correct solution. This must be a European solution with a European ETS.