Dáil debates

Thursday, 7 December 2006

Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed)

 

6:00 pm

Photo of Martin FerrisMartin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

As many environmental justice organisations point out, carbon trading is nothing more than the proliferation of the free market into environmental policy making.

We welcome the belated conversion of the Government to the importance of biofuels, especially when we are so dependent on imported oil and gas. This Government is determined to hand our oil and gas rights over to multinational corporations such as in the Corrib gas field.

The increase in grants for growing energy crops is welcome. It was proposed by Sinn Féin and others four years ago as a means to attract more farmers to this area. We are disappointed at the small size and limited vision of the proposals on bio-energy crop production. It is a missed opportunity.

If the political will existed, the closure of the sugar factories in Mallow and Carlow was an ideal opportunity to divert to biofuel production. Despite this golden opportunity, the Government's attitude is to adopt a hands-off approach, ignoring the possibility of the State becoming not just a producer of ethanol based bio-fuels but, given time, a net exporter of a valuable source of energy. It is another missed opportunity in a budget of missed opportunities from a Government which will be remembered by future generations as having had the resources to end poverty in Ireland and build a more equal and sustainable society and failing to do so. This budget creates the perception of being a good budget. The reality in most cases is quite different. Higher earners are the bigger winners. That is what this budget is about.

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