Budget support for biofuel welcomed

FARM leaders have welcomed the support in the budget for the country’s fledging biofuel industry, but suggested that more needs to be done if it is to become a new and viable enterprise.

Finance Minister Brian Cowen announced an excise relief package for biofuels costing over €200 million over a five-year period from 2006-2010, together with funding to assist the development of an indigenous biofuel plant.

The decision came as demands increase for the development of biofuels because of soaring fuel prices and the threat facing the country’s sugar beet industry.