Mr Joe Jacob, Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise, has announced his intention to publish a Green Paper on Sustainable Energy in line with the commitment given in the Government's "An Action Plan for the Millennium".

The Minister has invited all interested organisations, groups and individuals from the public and private sectors to participate in the preparation of the Green Paper. In calling for submissions on all aspects of sustainable energy Minister Jacob has pointed out that the Green Paper will be a discussion document that will assist in the formulation of Government policy in this area. The Green Paper will explore the options available for meeting Ireland's energy requirements over the next 10 - 15 years in an environmentally and economically sustainable way having regard to forecast economic growth and security of supply requirements.

"In the context of the continuing growth in the country's economy it was now timely to consider the issues that would effect future developments in sustainable sources of energy and to assess current policy." Minister Jacob said.

He added that sustainable development is not a "no growth" policy but a policy which looks at alternative ways of growing.

The Minister has set the 30th June, 1998 as the deadline for the receipt of submissions in his Department. The Minister wishes to spread the net as widely as possible to get the maximum input and opinion.

Submissions should be marked "Sustainable Energy Green Paper" and addressed to:

In conclusion the Minister indicated that he hopes to be in a position to publish the Green Paper during Energy Awareness Week which takes place in September, 1998.