Results 3,901-3,920 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: We are working under the EU directive.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: Despite what Deputy Eamon Ryan said — he obviously does not have the full facts — Ireland was the only country to be given an increase on its 1990 base level. Ireland has been allowed to have growth of 13%, whereas most other countries have had to face reductions. Deputy Ryan correctly stated that we are above the allowed figure at present, but it was never stated that we would achieve...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: I have said three times that——

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: We do not sign international agreements for fun. We sign international agreements with the intention of adhering to the targets set out in them. We will achieve the targets to which we subscribe.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: Yes, I have set out how we will achieve the targets.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: We will achieve them by investing in public transport.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: We will achieve the 5.75% target on the bio-fuels side, which has been set out under an EU directive and has to be achieved by 2010. The transport figure has grown for many reasons, the most important of which relates to Ireland's thriving economy.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: We are not. Despite the increase in the number of cars from 750,000 to 2.2 million, we are actually still under the EU average for car ownership, which is interesting.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: Car usage is as high in many other countries as it is in Ireland.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: Approximately 50% of those who use the Luas system have made a modal shift from cars to public transport. We can be confident that the development of the two proposed metro lines and the seven proposed Luas lines or extensions will lead to similar modal shifts.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: There will be a shift from car use.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: The tragedy of this complex debate, in which I was involved when I served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, is that it tends to focus on small elements of the system. As a society we need to maintain our quality of life and the success of the economy while striking an environmental balance on the other side of the equation. While those two agendas are often in...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: Yes.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: I said earlier that Ireland is the only country to have been allowed an increase on 1990 levels. I understand that Spain may have been granted an increase as well, although I am not sure. I may have been wrong to say that Ireland is the only country in that position — it may be one of just two such countries. We have been given permission to increase our emissions by 13% because the base...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: To what pilot project does the Deputy refer?

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: It is an international pilot project.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am glad the Deputy has raised this issue. There is a perception that we can go to the shelf to buy buses with all the modern environmentally friendly facilities needed

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: Such buses are not freely available. We will pursue the pilot project in conjunction with our European partners. It is interesting that four prototype buses have been developed by the Wright Group in Northern Ireland. The first of the buses — a hybrid bus — is in use in London. I am not sure where the others are. I congratulate the company, which is based on this island, on that...

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: I am talking about a hybrid bus from Northern Ireland.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions. (21 Feb 2007)

Martin Cullen: Just four such buses are available in Europe. The Deputy should not pretend——