Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 70: To ask the Minister for Transport his plans to encourage the production and use of renewable indigenous transport fuels. [29725/06]

Martin Cullen (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources is responsible for the promotion and development of renewable energy which includes biofuels. To facilitate the formulation of a national biofuels policy, that Department has established an inter-Departmental Biofuels Group, in which my Department participates. My Department is committed to delivering a sustainable transport system designed to balance economic, social and environmental considerations in the development and delivery of transport policy. A range of policies and measures are being progressed which will facilitate the promotion of biofuels in the transport sector.

The CIE companies have committed to regular reporting to my Department on the progress made towards the substitution of fossil fuel with biofuel alternatives. Dublin Bus is currently piloting the use of 5% biodiesel blend in five vehicles in Dublin and Bus Éireann intends to commence a pilot of 5% biofuel blend in Cork in the near future.

Transport 21 provides funding for a range of sustainable transport initiatives. The purpose of these initiatives is to facilitate the mainstreaming of sustainability criteria into transport investment decision-making and to make cleaner, more environmentally-friendly vehicles available. These initiatives include pilot projects to test the feasibility of biofuel use in public transport bus operations and HGVs. The projects will build on the initiatives already underway in Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann and the results will be used to guide future policy development, particularly in relation to public transport investment.