Ireland should diversify the materials it uses to produce energy and heat- Committee on Environment, Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht report

Special consideration should be given to organic waste such as tree cuttings and trimmings from forests and farm slurry, according the report which was written by Committee members Timmy Dooley TD and Senator Cáit Keane.

The report is based on their observations from attending the 11th Interparliamentary Meeting on Renewable Energy Sources and Energy Efficiency.

Among the report’s other recommendations are:

• Any carbon taxes introduced in Ireland should be differentiated on the basis of the quantity of carbon in the material being taxed.
• Any such taxes should, as Sweden does, be used to shift some of the tax burden from direct income taxation on working people on low incomes;
• Buildings, new and old, should be built and maintained in a way that minimises their energy consumption
• The Public Sector should lead by purchasing and maintaining its buildings in accordance with this principle;
• Mandatory building renovations should be considered where these will create definite and noticeable savings and improvements;
• All incinerator and energy producing sites should be designed to utilise both the heat and energy they produce to the fullest extent by connecting them with domestic, commercial or industrial users of heat and energy.

Ends

For further information please contact:

Ciaran Brennan,
Houses of the Oireachtas,
Communications Unit,
Leinster House,
Dublin 2

P: +3531 618 3903
M: 086-0496518
F: +3531 618 4551

Committee Membership

Deputies:

Ciarán Lynch, Labour Party (Chairman)
Noel Coonan, Fine Gael (Vice-Chairman)
James Bannon, Fine Gael
Paudie Coffey, Fine Gael
Terence Flanagan, Fine Gael
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy, Fine Gael
Tony McLoughlin, Fine Gael
Patrick O’Donovan, Fine Gael
Brian Walsh, Fine Gael
Kevin Humphreys, Labour Party
Gerald Nash, Labour Party
Seán Kenny, Labour Party
Robert Troy, Fianna Fáil
Timmy Dooley, Fianna Fáil
Niall Collins, Fianna Fáil
Sandra McLellan, Sinn Féin
Dessie Ellis, Sinn Féin
Brian Stanley, Sinn Féin
Clare Daly, Socialist Party
Catherine Murphy, Independent
Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, Independent
 
Senators:

Cáit Keane, Fine Gael
Catherine Noone, Fine Gael
Labhrás Ó’Murchú, Fianna Fáil
Ned O’Sullivan, Fianna Fáil
Fiach Mac Conghail, Independent