Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hope the considerations the Deputy has outlined, which I agree with, will be maintained across the coming period when many demands will be placed upon the Government for expenditure in different areas. As I referred to earlier when answering questions from Deputy Calleary, if one considers where we will be next year, while we do have resources available to make new investment choices, there are a huge number of demands in that regard. We face demands regarding the future development of our public pay bill, the position of taxation in our country and investment in education, which the Deputy correctly raised. The need to invest in our environment is another of those demands and it is one I want to meet. It is not just the prerogative of the Green Party to make sure we have an environment in the future that is good, safe and clean for those that will come after us, but also it is an agenda to which I am also committed. We have put support in place for that through prudent programmes such as the renewable heat initiative, incentives for the use of electric cars and investment in public transport. These are the kinds of choices with which I want to continue in the coming years.

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