Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

The Minister is the only person who will be caught unawares.

I support the motion tabled by the Fine Gael Party. An inhabitant of Mars who had spent the past few months in Ireland would be pardoned for concluding that the Government had led a Rip Van Winkle-like existence because, for some unknown reason, it only became aware of the need to become eco-friendly on energy, heating and transport in the past six months or thereabouts. This has resulted in frantic Government activity as members of the public receive a daily dose of propaganda. Almost every day, it issues a press release or holds a major exhibition, conference or other event, all of which give the impression that it has pursued an environmentally friendly policy since taking office. Unfortunately, the truth is vastly different because, like Rip Van Winkle, it has been asleep for a long time. When the Government finally received a rude awakening it decided to take action on this serious issue. As a result, it is frantically peddling in all directions, using energy to beat the band and in an inefficient manner that is unlikely to benefit consumers.

My colleague, Deputy O'Dowd, referred to broken promises. The Government made promises in every area except the environment, which is sad. It has, however, been making noises. The Minister is a dab hand at making all kinds of friendly noises when it suits him.

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