Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

The Minister's point, that we are critically dependent on imported fuel, is key. Would the Minister call the target of generating 40% of our energy from renewable resources by 2020 ambitious given our dependence on fossil fuels, oil in particular? It may well not be. Are there initiatives that the Minister believes could be invested in that would provide jobs and assist us in exceeding the target that are not being considered because of the financial limitations? If so, are there other areas being worked on that could allow us to exceed our target of 40%? I do not regard the target as ambitious given that we are probably now at the point of peak oil.

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