Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I think Deputy Gormley might agree that what we are doing as regards recycling, which comes under my Department, is significant. We have come from very low levels of recycling in this country to extraordinary achievements. We have gone way ahead of our targets and surpassed what other countries are doing. We are way ahead in terms of EU levels. In the climate change strategy as well as the White Paper, both of which will be published before Easter, we have set out the actions to be taken, including a steeply ambitious target to deliver one third of the electricity from renewable sources by 2020, optimising the use of new technology for co-generation of power stations with biomass and planning, the use of carbon capture, a clean goal generation technology, creating new opportunities for farmers in bio-fuel production, a new bio-fuel industry, introducing minimal requirements for the use of bio-fuels in State companies, public transport, requiring the public sector to lead the way in energy efficiency, improving the energy efficiency of new homes by up to 40%——

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