The needs of the environment should not take second place to hauliers' demands to cut fuel taxes, the Labour Party spokesman on the environment, Mr Eamon Gilmore, said yesterday. He said the Government should publish its long-promised "greenhouse gas" abatement strategy before any talks with the Irish Road Haulage Association.
He also called on the Government to set out how Ireland would comply with Kyoto Protocol obligations.
"In 1997 Ireland agreed to the Kyoto Protocol under which industrialised countries would reduce their combined emissions of six greenhouse gases by 5.2 per cent on 1990 levels. The problem is that Ireland has already exceeded this target," Mr Gilmore said.