Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

It is a fact of life that the Government copied Fine Gael policy, which we published six to eight months before it published a word. The Fine Gael policy was published before the European Commission policy. We went on our own, with the support of other Opposition parties, and decided what to do and that policy has stood the test of time. The only weakness in the scenario is the lack of Government will to take action. It merely made references to policy and, with the exception of the Minister for Finance's gesture on limited excise relief, little has been done.

The result is simple — no one believes the Government. Ministers gave a sigh of relief when people asked what would happen next, deciding that carbon trading was the answer. Why not grow the alternative fuels and use what we have? We have a good record in agriculture so there is no reason that we would not succeed in this area.

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