Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)
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To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if there are any grant schemes to assist the production of bio ethanol from grain. [42002/12]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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There are currently no grant schemes available from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to support the production of bioethanol from grain. The Deputy may be aware that the Biofeuels Obligation Scheme was introduced in 2010 by the then Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to contribute to achieving the renewable transport target under the Renewable Energy Directive. The Scheme currently obliges that the amount of biofuel brought to the market is not less than 4.166% of the relevant disposal of petroleum road transport fuels. In 2011, the biofuel obligation resulted in 145 million litres of biofuel being placed on the market. The rate of obligation will increase over time and by 2020 it will require suppliers of road transport fuels to make certain that even higher volumes sold are biofuel. This will ultimately create a market size approaching 500 million litres of biofuel.