Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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143. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he voted in favour of the biofuel mandate at the EU energy Council of Ministers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12610/14]

Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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The 2009 Renewable Energy Directive sets all Member States a binding target that at least 10% of the energy used in the transport sector must come from renewable sources by 2020. An increased deployment of sustainable biofuels will be necessary in order to achieve this target. Following concerns that the use of certain categories of biofuels could have Indirect Land-Use Change (ILUC) effects that would reduce their effectiveness in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the EU Commission proposed amendments to the Renewable Energy Directive in 2012 to limit the contribution that these biofuels can make towards renewable energy targets.

Ireland's preference is to see as low a cap on biofuels with a risk of ILUC effects as is realistically achievable in order to mitigate the potential conflict between biofuel use in the EU and land use in the developing world. The issue was last discussed at the meeting of the Council of Energy Ministers in December 2013. In the interests of facilitating negotiations with the European Parliament with a view to reaching an agreement as quickly as possible, Ireland supported the Lithuanian Presidency’s proposal, which included a 7% cap on biofuels with a risk of ILUC. This would have been an improvement on the current position and would have reduced biofuels with a risk of ILUC. Regrettably, agreement could not be reached and seven Member States voted against the proposal, including a number of Member States who had argued for a higher cap or no cap at all.