Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

There will be a shift to public transport as a result of Transport 21 investment and the rebalancing of VRT and motor taxation. I would have expected the Green Party to favour revised building regulations which aim for a 40% improvement in thermal performance. The grants for renewable energy heating available under the greener homes scheme have been an enormous success. The strategy also includes support for eco-efficient technology and practices, a top-up of EU premium for energy crops and the biomass harvesting scheme. A commission on climate change will provide high level advice to the Government on progress and increase awareness in all sectors. We argue that our strategy is better than the British system and helps to keep the economy efficient. Those are just a small number of the issues that have been outlined and the targets to be met. The strategy includes a commitment to publish another climate change strategy——-

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