FINE GAEL energy spokesman Simon Coveney called for the introduction of further measures to increase the use of biofuels.

He said he supported the principle of introducing an obligation as a means of increasing quantities blended with petrol and diesel.

“There should also be an incentive to encourage oil companies and fuel-producers to go much further than the 4 per cent obligation we are putting in place from July.’’

Mr Coveney suggested that the thinking on the levy might be somewhat flawed.

“If we are going to encourage companies to go beyond the 4 per cent obligation, we will need to increase the levy somehow because we need to pay for this,’’ he added.

“Surely, however, we should also be loading the levy on to the carbon element of fuel production, rather than applying the same levy to biofuels that already applies to carbon-based fuels.’’

Mr Coveney was speaking during the debate on the Energy (Biofuel Obligation and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010.

Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan said the Bill’s main purpose was to introduce a biofuel obligation to underpin the delivery, in an affordable and environmentally sustainable manner, of a number of important national and EU targets for renewable energy in transport.

He said the Bill was critically important given that biofuels would play a central role in meeting the State’s binding EU targets for 2020.