Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

I commend the Minister in having been willing to look at energy policy on a more cross-party partnership basis. I regret our discussions on areas such as this are limited to brief question periods occurring at two or three-monthly intervals but commend the Minister, nonetheless.

Having given the Minister that commendation, however, I am utterly critical of his rose-tinted glasses view of the greenhouse gas situation here and his assertion that we are not as bad as we thought we would be. What we were seeking to do in the cross-party energy analysis was to think long term and to be honest with the people. Will the Minister not agree, based on all the scientific information to hand, that we will be looking at a 60% to 80% reduction in emissions——

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