Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

Instead of developing the concept of bio-fuels and encouraging replacement industry for the agricultural sector which was displaced in terms of the sugar beet industry, the Government made a grand sweep — another €250 million for carbon trading. That is not a contribution. That does nothing for the environment or the economy. It merely postpones the day of reckoning, and that is what is happening on the Opposite side of the House. The Government Members buried their heads in the sand and exposed their rear ends to the air. That is a dangerous posture for which they and, unfortunately, the country and the environment will pay.

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