Energy campaigns - No time to waste funds

YET another costly case of duplication by government departments has come to light at a time when the country can ill-afford to be squandering money.

In the latest instance of the State’s right hand not knowing what the left was doing, a number of official websites have been preaching the same message about energy efficiency, carbon emissions and climate change.

Expensive parallel campaigns have been run by both the Power of One and Change websites with the aim of educating consumers on how to improve energy efficiency and reduce their carbon footstep.

The problem is they were covering much the same ground. And while the Power of One campaign has come to an end, its role is being taken on by another official website, Sustainable Energy Ireland, an agency set up by the Government in 2002. Inexplicably, it is operating in tandem with the Change campaign.

While the overall objective may be laudable, saving energy and reducing carbon levels by squandering taxpayers’ money in costly duplication is unacceptable.

Ministers stand accused of indulging in “vanity projects” and wasting millions of taxpayers’ money in the process.

For separate official websites to be giving out the same advice is a classic case of overkill. Clearly, they should be merged.