Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

It can be explained when one considers our dependence on fossil fuels. That is where the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, moved in last year's budget in terms of incentivising indigenous renewables and alternatives to our fossil fuel dependency. That is ultimately the way forward, as well as the national energy efficiency savings programme which has been launched by the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey. We are working with him on these issues. We advance the competitiveness agenda, advocating on its behalf in tandem with enterprise. He is very well aware of that and has produced a Green Paper, which represents vision in dealing with the energy issue. However, there are global issues to be considered as well and it is not something that is entirely within our command. Elements of it certainly are and we are working on those.

I reiterate that we are taking nothing for granted. Our view is that to sustain economic competitiveness and underpin the job creation we have witnessed in recent times, we need to invest significantly in research and investment, third level education and the workplace skills base of the economy. These are areas where we score well, competitively, and we need to continue to reinvest in them and enhance the levels and quality of such investment into the future.

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