Dan Boyle (Cork South Central, Green Party)

Regarding emissions trading standards, the Minister had an opportunity to make a statement on how the production of concrete, one of the main building materials, should be viewed. A company in Dublin produces environmentally friendly cement. The Minister could have chosen 1990, the year the Kyoto Agreement is based on, as a baseline for the introduction of the emissions trading scheme. The company producing environmentally friendly cement has been operating to these standards for several years. When the Minister's standards were introduced, traditional, highly carbon intensive forms of cement were given an economic advantage over environmentally friendly cement. I have no confidence that the Minister is able to make the right choice or has an appreciation of the scale of the problem, or that the Government is willing and able to implement the necessary measures. The proof of that is the ten years of government that has brought this level of failure. This is a Government that has failed completely and does not have the confidence of the public. It will not be rewarded at the general election for its failure.

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