State subsidies for energy crops

THE Government plans to subsidise the production of crops for energy for a third year in 2009, to help the industry expand.

The Government will pay producers €80 a hectare (2.47 acres), said Martina Kearney, a spokeswoman at the Department of Agriculture. The payment is capped at 37.5 hectares per producer.

The European Union wants 10% of its transport fuels to come from renewable sources including biofuels by 2020.