Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

Or mellowing in an attempt to be taken seriously perhaps. As regards the budget, the two big ideas were stamp duty and VRT reform. It is worth pointing out that Fine Gael has, by and large, welcomed stamp duty reform. It is a relatively simple and straightforward measure, which is similar to what we proposed before, during and after the election. For previous speakers to suggest that Fine Gael has been acting irresponsibly because we called for a just stamp duty reform for over a year, is stretching credulity to say the least. For a year in the build up to the general election, the Minister for Finance and the Tánaiste we at odds over stamp duty reform. In many ways that contributed to so much confusion and hesitancy in the housing market. I hope we now have a clear view as to what will happen with stamp duty. The previous speaker's comments on the potential for stamp duty reform in the commercial sector were not overly helpful. The last thing we need in any other sectors is confusion that is not based on sound planning for stamp duty reform. Let us try to leave it to the market at this stage.

I wish to concentrate on the areas for which I have responsibility, including climate change, carbon emissions, energy, communications and natural resources. Ireland should be aiming to lead the world in tackling carbon emissions. We should be highly ambitious as to what can be achieved here. Ireland is privileged to have wind, wave and tidal resources that are unparalleled anywhere else in Europe. We also have a climate where biomass can be grown more efficiently than in most other European countries. We have natural competitive advantages that remain as yet untapped or partially tapped in the case of wind resources. If the Government, including its Green Ministers, and the Opposition are serious in trying to make an impact on global climate change, we should be able to speak credibly at international climate change conferences on issues, including carbon emissions and greenhouse gases generally. Currently, we have no such credibility. The country has had ten years of prosperity, opportunity and economic growth, but we have done little or nothing to prepare for the challenges we now face, including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. We are well above the targets to which we are committed in the European Union under the Kyoto Protocol. The Minister of State does not need me to reel off the figures in this regard time and again.

In principle, I strongly welcome the Minister's announcement on carbon budgeting and the approach whereby the Government will measure its own performance each year and indicate the sectors that are producing emissions and the sectors that have improved. We will judge the Government on its performance and not on its words. We will be able to hold the Ministers for Agriculture and Food, Transport, Environment, Heritage and Local Government, and Enterprise, Trade and Employment to account over their efforts to lower greenhouse gas emissions. The only way one can do so is to have accurate figures. To be fair to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley has given us some figures to work with, which I welcome as a first step.

There are some problems relating to how we started off with carbon budgeting and there are three scenarios we need to consider in this regard. The first is the "do nothing" scenario, which is essentially the one that has obtained for the past ten years, apart from some promotion of wind generation over the past 12 months. The second concerns the full implementation of the recommendations of last year's climate change strategy and the third involves making the extra changes required to achieve an average annual reduction in carbon emissions of 3%, as set out in the programme for Government.

One problem with the speech on the budget by the Minister, Deputy Gormley, was that he did not provide figures for the "do nothing" scenario. Doing so would have served as a serious reality check, particularly for his Fianna Fáil colleagues, who need to change their mindset fundamentally if we are to have a green economy. The Minister stated that even if we implemented in full the measures contained in the National Climate Change Strategy, we will still emit an average of 3.2 million tonnes more per annum than the amount agreed to in our Kyoto commitment, at a total cost to the taxpayer of between €150 million and €325 million, depending on the terms the National Treasury Management Agency is able to negotiate. This is the agency that purchases carbon credits to offset our pollution.

The Minister outlined the additional emission reduction measures he proposes under the national climate change strategy to achieve the annual emissions reduction target of 3%. However, in his calculations he is taking for granted that the targets under the strategy will be achieved. This is clearly not the case according to the evidence before us. Although the strategy was announced as late as last April, we are already falling behind on the targets we have set, in addition to falling behind on commitments made in previous climate change strategies. This is why the Minister's speech this morning is not as credible as it should be.

The only step the budget proposes in terms of transport is to rebalance vehicle registration tax, as discussed and welcomed by all. Last April the national climate change strategy announced the publication of a sustainable transport action plan before the end of 2007 but there is no sign of it yet. All the Minister did in this regard was make an announcement on 4 December that he will prepare it for some date next year. The national climate change strategy states that CIE is required to have all its vehicles using a 5% bio-fuel blend but there has been little progress on this issue in the eight months since the publication of the strategy. The latest update suggests that the Department is working with CIE to establish how these targets can be achieved in the shortest timeframe possible. However, we were supposed to have achieved them by the end of the year. The Minister lacks credibility when he provides us with emissions reduction figures based on such vague timeframes.

The top priority of the national climate change strategy in terms of reducing transport-related emissions is a modal shift to public transport as part of Transport 21. This priority appears to be in tatters given what the Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, said today. He confirmed time and again on radio that there will be a deliberate bias in favour of building roads between cities between now and 2010. Where is the green monitoring of strategic development within Government?

I welcome the fact that an additional €7 million has been allocated for research and development in respect of wave energy. However, I would like a further allocation to be made. Unfortunately, there seems to be no additional funding allocated for other renewable sources such as wood biomass. Surely it makes sense in Ireland to replace peat with wood biomass, which is carbon neutral and can be grown very efficiently on bogland from which peat is derived.

I welcome the lightbulb initiative but we could be even more aggressive in this regard. I would not be averse to placing a levy on non-sustainable lightbulbs to subsidise the cost of more environmentally friendly ones. I welcome the fact that we are dramatically increasing capital expenditure on grid development.

My views on the Government's performance on broadband are well known. When the Minister states an extra €10 million has been allocated in the budget to promote the roll-out of broadband, he is deliberately misleading the House. He took €10 million from the broadband budget in 2007 and all he is doing with the extra allocation is increasing the figure to match the one that existed at the start of this year before he took the money to spend it on the greener homes scheme.

There is no additional funding in the budget for next-generation broadband roll-out, which is now needed desperately. In addition to making broadband available, we need high-speed broadband. We do not have it at present. There is no capital allocation in the budget for the nationwide roll-out of much-needed, high-speed next-generation broadband, as there should be under the national development plan. The Acting Chairman, Deputy Cregan, knows well that we will be discussing these issues again at a meeting of the committee he chairs.

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