Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)

The National Competitiveness Council report to which Deputy Clare Daly referred indicates that Ireland is among the countries in Europe most dependent on oil as a source of energy consumption. The latest figures show that in the first quarter of this year, exports increased by some 2.5% while imports rose by 5%. The price of oil, over which we have no control, is a huge factor in that. Does the Government see any potential to address this problem by way of investment in renewable energies? There is a serious difficulty in that oil prices are something over which we have no control.

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