John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, once again mentioned climate change and, while I dealt with a number of issues in my opening remarks, I would like to return to this topic. What is the position of the Government on the Commission proposal to set a mandatory limit on CO2 emissions of 130 g per kilometre on all new cars from 2012? Does the Government support this sensible proposal or join the Germans, who have major concerns about it, in rejecting it? Is the Minister prepared to lead by example if he is so concerned about climate change? As I asked in my opening speech, is the Government prepared to use cars with lower CO2 emission values? Will the Minister explain why the Toyota Prius family car, the most fuel efficient car, has been rejected by Ministers on the grounds of it being "insufficient for the needs of a Minister"? What does that mean? Are Ministers on a higher plane than the rest of us that allows them to ignore EU directives?

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