Gormley defends ‘hard decisions’ in budget

GREEN Minister John Gormley last night staunchly defended controversial budget measures which hit the elderly and low-paid hard.

Unveiling his annual strategy to reduce Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions, Mr Gormley insisted unpopular moves like means-testing medical cards for the elderly and imposing a 1% income levy on minimum wage earners were unavoidable in the current financial situation.

The Environment Minister insisted there was “no way out” of the hard decisions taken by the Cabinet and he attacked opposition parties for concentrating on “parochial concerns” and not thinking about the future of the planet.

Launching his second “carbon budget” Mr Gormley said the Government wanted 10% of all road traffic electrically powered by 2020.

The minister also increased the target for the amount of the country’s electricity from renewable sources to 40% by 2020.

He revealed Environmental Protection Agency figures showing greenhouse gas emissions decreased by more than 1% last year, however, he could not guarantee that the Government’s target of reducing emissions by 3% each year would be achieved in 2008.

The minister called for change in people’s behaviour which he hoped would be encouraged by new cycle lanes in Dublin and giving passengers real time information on when buses would arrive at stops.

Mr Gormley confirmed that key public transport projects such as Metro North and the Cork-Midleton commuter railway will go ahead, despite cutbacks elsewhere.

Mr Gormley also indicated the recession could be beneficial for the environment in that it would reduce pollution from cars and industrial activity. But he stressed this was only speculation and people had to act now rather than depend on it happening.

Labour’s environment spokesperson Joanna Tuffy ridiculed the strategy.

“Why Mr Gormley insists on continuing with the charade that is his ‘carbon budget’ is beyond me.

“He provided little enlightenment as to how we will tackle the carbon emissions crisis we now face. Most of the announcements he made referred to deferred action or proposals that he is looking into.

“It is particularly disappointing that he has undertaken to purchase 4.6m tonnes of carbon credits, using scarce taxpayers money... instead of the 2.58m he predicted would be purchased in last year’s carbon budget. Mr Gormley now looks like the environmental emperor with no clothes,” she said.