Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

When one went to buy diesel or petrol, one dealt in gallon measures. Litres are interesting from the point of view of people who want to magnify the figures.

We must continue with exploration licences in the future and encourage and support enterprise. We must ensure it is done in a way that will encourage the investor, on the one hand, with sufficient return for his or her investment while, on the other, protecting the national and natural resources. As we proceed into the future, increasing emphasis should be placed on alternatives. I congratulate the Government on the paper it produced recently. It agreed with almost every aspect of the Fine Gael proposals on alternative energy. It took the Government six months to produce the paper, but I congratulate it on a great job.

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