Trevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)

At the May meeting, was there any hint of awareness about the challenges facing the country in regard to climate change, which the G8 will focus on in the days ahead, or in regard to the price of oil, which will soon reach $60 plus a barrel? For example, the cross-departmental committee is able to match that with its plans and spending targets being based on 80% of transport being road dependent. Is there any indication of a need to reassess this or to prepare for a post-fossil fuel economy in the long-term or medium-term? Will that have an impact not just on transportation but on planning, which is currently car focused? Is the committee simply following what was done previously and doing more of it, or is it able to think ahead and plan internationally to free us from this dependency on fossil fuel, on which we are more dependent than any other EU country?

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