FINE GAEL and the Green Party have clashed over the merits of a €15 million campaign to raise awareness of climate change.
Fine Gael yesterday described the estimated €15 million budget for the campaign as "staggering" and suggested that the public had been misled about the total spend.
The party's environment spokesman, Phil Hogan, received the information on the campaign by way of a response to a parliamentary question.
However, a spokesman for Minister for the Environment and Green Party leader John Gormley came back with an immediate rejoinder, saying that the €15 million figure was not new, was well known and had been openly stated on the day the campaign was launched in November.
Mr Gormley's spokesman said: "Mr Hogan and Fine Gael have been asleep for the last six months or are being disingenuous."
He said that the campaign was not just an advertising promotion but was a multi-faceted campaign which included the development of a carbon management tool for business and carbon calculators for households.
He said Mr Gormley had said at the time that he made no apology for the amount of money which was being spent on the campaign.
Fine Gael last night accepted that the figure might have been available to the public earlier than the party had previously indicated. However, it argued that the amount was extraordinarily high.
Mr Hogan said it was excessive, especially given that the Government had, the previous day, only committed €5 million to a new energy-efficiency scheme for homes.
A Fine Gael spokesman said: "All we have seen are glossy ads that are little more than political party ads for the Green Party. This comes a day after only a third of that was spent on tangible measures for insulating homes."
