Ex-minister criticised for acting as biofuels lobbyist for Hungarian firm

The lobbying activities of former European and environment minister Dick Roche have drawn criticism from a number of members of the European parliament and Oxfam Ireland.

Mr Roche has a number of clients who pay him up to €200,000 a year and he recently added a Hungarian- based bio-fuel producer with Irish and US links to his list.

The former Fianna Fáil TD for Wicklow, who has a state pension of €50,000 a year, sent a letter to a number of members of the parliament seeking support for his newest client. They want to water down proposed new rules aimed at ensuring there will be no increase in biofuels from crops or land that would otherwise be used for food that push up the price of food, especially in poorer countries.