Greens call for cross-party energy goals

THE Government and the opposition should work together to tackle long- term energy problems, the Green Party said yesterday.

Party leader, Trevor Sargent, said: “With oil at more than $60 a barrel, and massive hikes in gas and electricity bills, we need urgently to reduce our 90% dependency on fossil fuels for our energy needs.”

The Greens are proposing that all the political parties engage in a partnership approach to set out long-term goals.

The Greens launched their energy proposals at a press conference in Dublin.

Unusually for an opposition press conference, a Government minister was praised at the event.

Green Party energy spokesman, Eamon Ryan, revealed he had discussed the party’s proposals with Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey, who had been receptive. Mr Ryan has also held discussions with the Energy Regulator and business lobby group, IBEC.

He said he was hopeful the new committee could be established early in the new year, although a change in Dáil rules would first be required to allow the outside experts sit on it.

“Energy policymakers have to take a view several decades into the future, but politicians rarely look beyond the next election. Countries such as Denmark have got around this problem by getting cross-party agreement on certain long-term energy goals,” Mr Ryan said.

He said Irish use of these scarce resources had increased dramatically in recent years, while the contribution of renewable energies to the energy supply had remained virtually static at 2%.

“Our electricity prices are significantly above the European average and the bill for carbon emissions from power generation alone is likely to cost the taxpayer at least €50 million next year,” he said.

Besides the cross-party approach, the Green policy document made a range of other proposals.

These included:

* Redirecting some of the proposed expenditure on the national roads programme to additional public transport projects not in the Government’s 10-year plan.

* Improving support schemes for wind farms and biomass operations.

* Waiving duty on all biofuel crops to encourage farmers to grow them.

* Ensuring that every new house built is fully energy- efficient.