Green Party Energy councillor, Deirdre de Burca has called today's renewable energy launch by Minister Noel Dempsey TD 'a stopgap exercise to detract from his ongoing failure to deliver the new Green Paper on the Energy policy.'

Cllr de Burca said: "This Green Paper was promised for July. The Minister is today making out that the Government has helped in the development of our renewable energy industries in Ireland but most businesses would argue that their development has come about in spite of, rather than because of, Government actions.

"Our exposed position as one of the most fossil fuel dependent countries in the world requires a radical rethink of a whole range of Government policies. It is increasingly clear that this Government lacks the vision or the flexibility to turn the country in a more energy efficient direction.

"The launch of the report today is designed to detract attention from that failure but its publication only strengthens the question: where exactly is the Government's Energy policy paper?"