Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I join the welcome to the Minister and congratulate him on retaining his portfolio. He has shown a great degree of innovation and application in this job and it was never in doubt that he would be staying in the portfolio.

This Bill is important on a number of fronts, not just from an environmental and resource perspective but also from the perspective of job creation. There is much potential that remains untapped and we should prioritise it. As was said, and I fully support the point, all policies and legislation that are brought before the Houses from now on should be job-proofed. High unemployment, which two years ago we never thought we would see return, is here, will continue to grow this year and, unfortunately, from what I am hearing from the United States, may continue to grow for a number of years. Therefore, prioritising job creation has to be an absolute prerequisite of Government.

We have already debated the issues covered by the Bill. As we are consuming 6 billion litres of hydrocarbon fuels per annum, the bio-fuel obligation presents both a challenge and an opportunity to us in that 4% of this, approximately 220 million to 240 million litres, will come from bio-fuels. While at present we have significant imports, the thrust of all the debate in this House has been to try to shift from imports to indigenous sources of supply, of which there are a number.

I welcome, as have others, the Minister's constructive response to the debate in this House in recent weeks. I also welcome the amendment which he has put before us on Report Stage. Like other speakers, I would have preferred if it had been more prescriptive but we fully understand, given the debate we have had, the genuine reasons behind that. I welcome that the amendment clearly states we need to promote the use of bio-fuels and meet certain minimum standards. I would like to see the more mandatory term "shall" instead of the discretionary "may" in regard to making regulations but I understand Ministers and officials tend to give themselves as much scope and latitude as possible. Nonetheless, I would like the Minister to say on the record of the House that he intends to make such regulations.

It is important we compliment those who have contacted us in this regard and who have been helpful in resourcing us for the debate. I refer in particular to Green Biofuels Ireland Limited from my own neck of the woods and also Ethanol Ireland, which has a proposal in regard to Belview Port, not far from my area. They have been very focused and professional in the manner in which they have put forward their logical and cohesive arguments.

These companies are an example for others to follow. At present, there are issues on which we are bombarded with all sorts of e-mails. While people may think this is effective, it is not nearly as effective as taking a more professional and focused approach. If one's arguments are strong enough and sustainable, that is the line one should follow. I would like to see others do it as well, rather than thinking the volume rather than the quality of representations will dictate the evolution of policy.

The Minister might respond on the following point. Through the legislation, the country has subcontracted the 4% bio-fuel obligation to the oil companies. The administration will be the responsibility of the National Oil Reserves Agency. The logical argument has been made that in a scenario where we want to see the bio-fuel option leading to the promotion of indigenous industry and jobs, the bioprice should be set at a level to ensure and encourage the obligated parties to blend undenatured ethanol to the 4% level, in order to avoid the buy-out price being passed on directly to the consumer. The bio-fuel targets can be met by an oil company sourcing the bio-fuels through a combination of biodiesel or bioethanol from anywhere in the world. The company's key criteria in purchasing bio-fuels are based on price and quality. The draft legislation claims to create demand and therefore it needs to support domestically produced bio-fuels. I ask that the implementation of the appropriate tariff code 22071000, be included in the regulations in order to apply the duty at the higher level. This is my understanding of what we are trying to achieve. While the regulations allow for this to happen, the fact it is discretionary means it is not mandatory. I do not think the particular tariff code is mentioned in the legislation. In this regard we would only be in conformance with the many other countries which have adopted that approach. Countries such as Germany, Spain, France, Poland, Sweden, Belgium and Austria have adopted this code for similar reasons to that being proposed here. For this to be effective, I would like to be assured that the tariff code will be implemented and the effect we are seeking to achieve will come to pass. I know we all support the Minister in that objective as we will support any other legislation which will have as a secondary objective the creation and maintenance of jobs.