Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)

Is the Minister aware that one of the impacts of the emphasis on bio-fuels in its current form is a large projected increase in food prices worldwide, a shortage of grains for food use and the impact this will have on some of the poorest people in the developing world and poor families in the EU and Ireland? The Minister is a member of the Cabinet sub-committee on climate change. Has that committee any mechanism to study and reach a balanced conclusion on the advantages and disadvantages of bio-fuels, particularly their negative impact on the Third World in stripping rain forests and causing grain prices for food use to rise dramatically?

See this speech in context