The ALTENER Programme, which was formally agreed at the Ministerial Energy Council meeting on the 25 June 1993, aims at doubling renewable energy use from 4 per cent of consumption in 1991 to 8 per cent by the year 2005. ALTENER is a five-year framework programme which provides a basis on which to stimulate and assist various actions to ensure greater penetration of renewable energy technologies.
These measures will help to achieve Community objectives in limiting CO2 emissions. Increased use of renewable energy sources also has an important contribution to make to the targets set in Ireland's national CO² abatement strategy, which my colleague, the Minister for the Environment, recently published and is part of the reason for this Government's commitment to supporting appropriate alternative energy technologies. It is expected that ALTENER will assist in this development.