Booze 'best for nation's future': Senate candidate

Booze could be the solution to Ireland's energy problems, according to a candidate for the forthcoming Senate elections.

Michael Cosgrave, a lecturer in History at UCC, believes the country needs to replace the €311m a year we waste on imported oil - by substituting it with ethanol, the ingredient that gives alcohol its kick.

"Since the 1970s, Brazilian cars have run on a ethanol-petrol mix. Many manufacturers now produce engines which will automatically detect if an ethanol-petrol mix is used and re-tune themselves to suit," he says.

In addition, diesel engines can be easily adapted to burn ethanol, as can central heating burners and oil and gas burning power stations.

"Instead of importing hundreds of millions of euros worth of oil every year, we could use a renewable, clean domestically produced alternative which would improve our balance of trade, provide Irish agriculture with an alternative to living on EU subsidies, keep family farms and small communities alive, create jobs in agribusiness and develop leadership in a technology with future export possibilities.

"Energy use is the basis of our society; without a proper energy policy, we will have no future.

"We in Ireland import practically all our energy as finite fossil fuels - coal and oil," he said.

The candidate points to other countries, and the policies that they have adopted, for inspiration.

"Iceland, for example, has adopted a plan to make itself independent of imported energy by 2030, based mostly on exploiting their advantages in geothermal energy for power generation," he said.

"If we feel hard done by now, when unleaded costs 90c a litre, what will we do when it costs €90 per litre?" said Mr Cosgrave.

Mr Cosgrave is married with three young children. From Co Kerry, he was educated at Clongowes Wood and UCC, and is a former president of UCC Students' Union.