Joe O'Toole (Independent)

I welcome yesterday's announcement by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources with regard to bio-fuels. Yesterday's "Nine O'Clock News" headlines referred to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's introduction of new regulations which are more demanding than the national regulations. I spoke on this issue in the House in the last session. In fact, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is not the first but the second county council to do so because Fingal County Council was the first. Clare County Council and other county councils are also considering it.

Is this not a shame? Why does nobody think of asking why this is the case? If the Minister of State decided tomorrow morning that every house built in Ireland would have to have solar panels on the roof, we would save hundreds of millions of euro worth of carbon emissions in the next dozen years. At a cost of less than €500 per house, it is a simple way forward. I ask that it be done.