Dan Boyle (Green Party)

In the first instance I would like to agree with Senator O'Toole in the sense that laudatory motions at Private Members' time and knee-jerk reactions to them may not be the best use of this time. The core issue of this debate is important to debate. As the Minister has already said it is important to get a progress report on it. On a personal basis I am tickled pink that we have the two Civil War parties arguing over the new green agenda. The reality is that we need to have this debate and consider its subject matter in its widest context. If Senators will pardon the pun, bio-fuel is part of the mix but is no panacea. We have learned that with great difficulty in a global sense. The European Union, which established markers which have now been disassembled, has at least now honestly faced up to the fact that putting all the eggs in this particular basket brings about environmental hazards as well as dealing with issues of fuel security and economic savings.

The bio-fuel market is an international one and is being pushed by those who see it as an economic opportunity. In pushing forward that opportunity there has been a looseness in adhering to environmental standards. The Minister is correct that in meeting the standards we have now laid down and which are enforced by the European Union, we must be aware of both the environmental and social consequences of how bio-fuel is produced and subsequently used. That being said, we have an opportunity to grow a bio-fuel market which for several reasons we have chosen not to pursue to a significant extent.

Excise duty exemptions have been in place for several years and serious questions must be asked about those who have chosen to avail of those exemptions, those who have not chosen to avail of them and the fact that among those granted the various exemptions, there is a total reliance on importing the bio-fuel itself. I am aware of only one Irish-based company which is in the business of refining bio-fuel that is produced in this country. It is ironic that this debate was introduced by Senator Walsh because I understand the company in question is based in New Ross and is not a beneficiary of the existing licensing and exemption system. As this is something that is coming to a close at the end of 2010, the Department of Finance and the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources must review it critically because we seem to have got it very badly wrong.