Eamon Ryan (Dublin South, Green Party)

It is the crucial response. Deputy McManus sneered as if to say that this scheme is not a key policy development. It is the key policy development and will be achieved by the Government supporting a number of programmes and ensuring that there will be an incentive for people to do the right thing. That is set out in the amendment.

Rather than trying to offer a short-term response to this problem by cutting tax, it is far better to begin investing now in the real solutions, namely, to reduce our use of existing energy and to develop alternative sources.

See this speech in context