Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

Otherwise, our entire supply and transport system will become stuck. Ireland is not the most densely populated in Europe and, as a result, long distances must be covered in terms of deliveries. The very large delivery trucks that deliver to the multiples are evidence of that. They are on the road day and night and if they stop for 24 hours, the consumer will immediately feel the pain through shortages. Not only will there be shortages of fuel, there will be shortages of everything. Incidentally, when the port tunnel opens, we will be unable to use those large trucks because they will not fit into it. We are heavily dependent on transport, especially the road transport fleet. There is very little we can do in that respect but we can do something in the development of technology.

I welcomed the Government's recent announcement of its intention to put greater emphasis on developing the sciences, although it should have been done a long time ago and especially on the development of alternative fuels. Little or nothing has been done in that area. All the people involved in the development of alternative fuels in the past ten years have done so virtually on their own, with a certain amount of EU assistance in some cases. A number of the third level institutions took it upon themselves to take the job in hand. From what I am hearing from Government, it appears a serious effort will be made to provide funding for research and development and let science take over areas it should have taken over a long time ago to improve our knowledge in the creation of the alternatives that will be necessary in future. If we do not do that, we will have a serious problem because others will be doing it.

On the question of the other alternatives, we are an island nation. Imports cannot come in underground; they must come in by air or sea. If we intend to keep up supplies of all commodities, we must rely on the transport sector, which means using fuel. Regarding the domestic motor sector, however, we can reduce that reliance by undertaking some simple tasks. We can encourage the use of vehicles that do not use as much fuel as other vehicles on our roads. I do not want to be critical of any particular type of vehicle but the emphasis should now be on manufacturing vehicles that will travel twice the distance on the same amount of fuel. The beneficial effects of that are manifold. We will not have to import as much fuel in terms of oil or as many alternative fuels.

There is a notion that all alternative fuels are ozone friendly. That is not the case. Every fuel that burns has a residue that is harmful to the atmosphere to a greater or lesser extent. Generally speaking, renewable energies are about 45% more environmentally friendly than the fossil fuels to which we have become accustomed. There is a notion that once we change to alternative fuels, there will be no more pollution. That can never be the case. That applies to all fuels.

The development of a more environmentally friendly motor engine is an area all governments throughout Europe must pursue vigorously. The Japanese have managed to do that, and I have spoken about this previously in the House. As well as this, a particular manufacturer — I will not mention the name — has spent time developing alternative engines that are not as hungry for fuel, so to speak, as previously. It may not have achieved the ultimate yet but it is working on it. Japan has developed an electric engine for an ordinary domestic car that accelerates to the same extent and has the same qualities and properties as the conventional motor car. That is where the future lies in terms of energy conservation and environmental protection. Those two aspects must be kept together in the future because if we do not do that, we will end up buying carbon credits, which do nothing for the environment. All that means is that somebody else has them to offer. That is an area that can be developed.

On the miles per gallon question, unfortunately, we have a problem with the heavy road haulage equipment which gives very few miles per gallon and has a very high consumption of fuel. Road haulage is a vital part of our economy, however, and we cannot get away from it, so we must examine what we can do in that regard. When I was a young fellow, the Acting Chairman will be happy to hear that I was curious. I am sure he was curious as well, as was everybody else in the House.

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