Brian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

That is a macro-economic fact that is not being challenged by anyone I know of. Reducing excise taxes to help with the current price pressures is not the magic solution that some might think. Excise only applies to motor fuels and home heating oils. It does not apply to natural gas or electricity. Excise rates are subject to an EU framework and the scope for reductions is therefore limited. However, I understand the pressures that these increases have created. This also generates better energy efficiency in terms of what people want to do. It promotes alternatives to conventional fossil fuels, an area which we must continue to explore. These are all issues that arise as a result of the fact that we are in a higher energy regime than was the case in the past. It is not true that we have had the two worst export years of the past 20. The rate of growth has slowed but we continue to export more, year on year, than we did before.

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