Oil excess: Ireland’s overuse

IRELAND is the seventh most oil reliant country in the world and is failing to exploit alternatives.

Transport and home-heating are the worst offenders.

University College Cork’s Environmental Research Institute said by converting to either ethanol, bio-diesel or bio-gas the country could follow its European partners and remove its ties with oil.

Sweden intends to be free of oil imports by 2020. Debate here has centred on converting the sugar beet industry to ethanol as a direct replacement for petrol.

Other materials such as pig slurry and products of animal slaughter would produce bio-diesel cheaper and have less impact on the environment.

Grass, organic rubbish and fuel crops harnessed in a vacuum produce bio-gas which is already running the Stockholm bus fleet.

These would require plants to convert the material. These can be based on farms which can pump gas directly onto the National Grid. Germany is already opening service stations specifically supplying bio-gas.

The UCC research has shown this country has ignored the potential of heat energy and failed to follow the lead of Danish municipalities.

These use incinerators, straw converters and waste recycling centres to pump hot water directly into houses.