Cyprian Brady (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter. At the outset I congratulate the Minister and his Department on their achievements to date. A great deal has been achieved in the past ten years. In 2000, we were finally in a position to afford to have a strategy and invest serious finances in tackling an issue which no one denies is a major challenge not only globally but for us as a country and individuals. We have made steps forward. We will remove 8 million tonnes of greenhouse gases between 2008 and 2012, the term of the Kyoto Protocol. This will not be achieved by sitting back and waiting for things to happen or by not taking on the challenge or not having policies to tackle the issues as they arise.

We will debate the Carbon Fund Bill tomorrow and the point of the strategy and thrust of the policy is to minimise the buying of credits under the Kyoto Protocol. As a Government we recognise in the long term it is in Ireland's best interest to reduce and minimise the amount of credits we must buy. This is about getting the balance right between our competitiveness as a country and our ability to reduce our emissions. As previous speakers stated we must compete globally and any advantage we can gain is in the interest of maintaining growth and continuing to provide jobs and futures for our children and young people.

As the Minister pointed out, we have maintained this balance. Our economy grew by 150% between 1990 and 2004 and our emissions increased by only 25%. This is a major achievement in itself and it did not happen by accident. The balance between our rate of population and economic growth and our responsibilities with regard to emissions is delicate. We must consider our achievements.

The issue of traffic was raised and traffic measures, improved roads and infrastructure such as the Port tunnel mean we have shorter journey times. This morning, one side of the tunnel was closed for a short period of time and it caused chaos on the roads in Dublin. People sat in their cars with the engines running and emissions went shooting through the roof. People slated the tunnel when it was first suggested and stated it would never happen or make a difference. It has made a major difference, particularly to the centre of Dublin.

Transport 21 is being rolled out and the majority of new roads are on time and under budget. We have new train stations and DART extensions. Investment in public transport is up. The reality of life is that we cannot all cycle everywhere and this is a fact. We must consider alternatives and examine issues such as transport emissions which increased by 140%. The reason they increased is that we have twice as many people getting up in the morning to go to work and twice as many cars on the road. One quarter of all our diesel fuel is used up in fleets, a substantial amount of which is used abroad on transport and other areas. We must consider all of these areas and how to tackle issues such as SUVs. We have made strides in this regard.

Senator Kitt mentioned the greener home schemes and encouraging individuals and family groups to take on the responsibility of change through grants and other incentives. The Minister pointed out that the number of applications for the scheme surprised everybody. We can always do more, both collectively and individually. Much of it comes down to individual choice.

I wish to take issue with a particular point, namely, the argument on per capita emissions which are the emissions a country produces per head of population. When one considers it logically, if every country was judged on a per capita emissions basis all of the parties signed up to the Kyoto Protocol including China and India would be considered as not having as much of an effect as they actually do. When it comes to judging Ireland, these issues must be taken into consideration. As a country, one must consider our increase in population and economic success when one deals with how we as a country are seen throughout the world.

The global warming debate is centre-stage with films, the Internet and all types of television programmes about it. It is up to us to take responsibility, particularly as a Government. We must have a steady but firm course and maintain the progress we made so far. We must continue to research and develop renewable sources. The Minister and the Government have taken this issue extremely seriously. We must modernise our energy networks, which we are doing. We must encourage and finance our industries to continue to find ways to reduce emissions. The 109 most prolific industries are now signed up and major progress has been made in this area.

We had major successes in agriculture and forestry through CAP reform, the nitrates policies and continuing to encourage afforestation. The Building Control Bill went through the House today and will ensure all new housing and public buildings will conserve energy and reduce emissions. The Minister steadfastly pursued, studied and approached this Bill in such a way that it is fair but firm. This is what we need to do when considering an area such as emissions. Transport will continue to play a key role in reductions and biofuels play a major role. The more public and private companies make the change to alternative fuels, the quicker these changes will have an effect. It is about encouraging people to do so.

We have been successful to date in making progress towards meeting the Kyoto targets. As the Minister stated, we should not talk down ourselves. We need only look at some of our EU neighbours to see how successful we have been. We cannot afford to slow the progress. However, availing of whatever mechanisms are in place under the Protocol, including trading allowances, not only helps us achieve our aims. It also allows developing countries invest in their infrastructures to improve their contributions towards improving the global climate. We as a country have made a major contribution and taken major steps forward through many of the policies we pursued over the years. I have no hesitation in supporting the amendment.