Michael Mulcahy (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

Let us tackle that for once and for all. There should be serious incentives for the former beet growers to grow their produce for the purposes of alternative fuel. Let us introduce serious tax incentives. We seem to have developed a problem with the concept of tax incentives in recent years. People have said that such incentives are bad and only benefit the rich. That is balderdash. When I started out in politics in 1985, the south inner city was a derelict place with hardly a new building being built there. Were it not for the tax designation of many parts of this city, we never would have had the redevelopment of the capital. Buildings that had not changed from the time of the Act of Union were dilapidating. The same holds for all aspects of society, including agriculture. The arguments, products and thinking must move on. I hope to see radical change in the budget from the Minister for Finance in this area. There is a huge public appetite for that.

I was glad to hear what the Minister had to say about nuclear energy. I do not believe there is any appetite in Ireland for nuclear energy.

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