Green Party attack energy crop scheme

Green Party Deputy Leader and Biofuels spokesperson Cllr Mary White says today's grant scheme for energy crops, announced by the Government, is 'too little, too late'.

Cllr White said: "While I welcome any advance in the development of the energy crop sector, there are many problems with the initiative announced today. Firstly, the total area under grant assistance is 1400 hectares, which amounts to just 70 individual applications, if each applicant takes up their full allocation.

"Secondly, the timeframe in which to apply is far too short; it is particularly hard for farmers to try and get organised within the window of three weeks.

"Regrettably the Agriculture Minister Mary Coughlan has failed to usher in a well thought out plan to incentivise farmers and not strangle them with pilot schemes, bureaucratic red tape and restrictive claw backs.

"She has failed the fledgling renewable energy sector by not grasping the urgency of supporting farmers with an imaginative scheme to boost farm incomes."