Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2007

Tuesday, 24 April 2007

Ceisteanna (628)

James Breen

Ceist:

651 Mr. J. Breen asked the Minister for Transport his view of the fact that engine manufacturers for large vehicles, both trucks and buses have advanced the designs and taken these new modern engines and exhaust systems up to Euro 4 and 5 standard and the fact that both the haulage and coach and bus businesses have invested large sums to try to reach the targets of Euro 4 and 5 emissions to help these industries reach their targets and in so doing, help Ireland to get a lower emission rating; and if he has plans either by grant aid or by scrappage schemes to help these industries take out all the older vehicles and older less compliant engines and at the same time, to get the newer engines with the necessary conversions to be able to use bio fuels. [14294/07]

Freagraí scríofa

Minister for Transport (Mr. Cullen)

The Department of Transport has recently funded a scheme to convert 50 selected vehicles to run on pure plant oil (PPO), which is being carried out under the aegis of the German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce. The cost to the Department is €227,000 and provides for 75% of the cost of engine modification.

This scheme is complementary to the Minerals Oil Tax Relief (MOTR) Scheme II, which aims to place 163 million litres of biofuels on the market at a cost of €200 million, and will help develop a sustainable indigenous network of localized PPO supply chains in Ireland. The scheme is targeted at hauliers or captive fleets maintained by local authorities or public organizations.

In addition, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (DCMNR) recently mandated obligatory 5% fuel blending by 2009, which will help to achieve the indicative target of 5.75% set out in the Biofuels Directive 2003/30/EC. It is envisaged that the additional 0.75% would be met by higher biodiesel blends of 30% in captive fleets maintained by public transport operators and use of 100% PPO by hauliers and semi-state organizations.