The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has insisted that last-minute changes can still be made to the State's regime to cut carbon dioxide emission limits, due to come into force from January 1st.
Under the plan, the country's 70 biggest companies, including the ESB and CRH, will have to cut their existing production of CO2, abide by emission licences or else buy licences to cover their excess production.
In the face of industry complaints that its plan is set in stone, EPA executive Mr Ken Macken said: "Everything can be changed until the final decision is made. That is part of the process."
However, the ESB did not make a final submission to the EPA's last round of consultation because it did not believe that there was any realistic prospect the environmental agency would change its mind.
In late September, the agency told the affected companies of the emission limits that they could expect to face from January 1st until the end of 2008 under the European Union-organised regime.
From 2008, the Kyoto Treaty will aim to cut the emission of global greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, when it creates an international trading exchange for emission licences.
Mr Macken also rejected charges from one of the country's leading dairy companies, Glanbia, which has complained that it could not get a meeting to voice its concerns.
Insisting that the EPA had carried out "very extensive consultations", Mr Macken, who is the head of the EPA's emissions trading unit, said: "Any request that we got for a meeting from industry we have addressed."
In an October 13th letter to Mr Macken, Glanbia executive Mr Martin Tynan complained that his company had met the EPA on June 15th to highlight its fears about the EPA's decision not to allow dairy companies transfer licences from closed-down factories to newer plants.
The decision threatens to derail efforts by the dairy industry to close inefficient older milk processing plants and concentrate processing in new high-technology plants in line with the Prospectus Promar report, which was partly paid for by the Department of Agriculture.
"The outcome of our meeting held on June 15th identified the need to resolve this issue in a process that would require at least a two-step process," Mr Tynan said.
The agency agreed to reflect on the various closure scenarios put forward by the Irish Dairy Industry Association.
"Since this meeting we have had no further communication from the agency.
"We request the agency respond to our issues on closure, in particular to each of the closure scenarios raised with the agency at our meeting on June 15th, 2004," Mr Tynan complained.
Four new electricity stations offering a total of 800 megawatts will come on stream "on the same basis" as existing stations, along with a further 400 megawatt plant in 2007, Mr Macken said.
