Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said the European Commission has given its support for his plans to ban traditional light bulbs next year.
Mr Gormley last December announced his intention to ban traditional light bulbs from 2009 and promote the greater use of low-energy CFL bulbs.
He outlined the plan as part of his carbon budget, an addendum to the full Budget, and said he intended to lead the way in Europe in banning traditional bulbs in the same way Ireland took the lead in introducing the plastic bag levy and smoking ban.
A Department statement issued today said Mr Gormley had met both EC Vice-President Gunter Verheugen and Commissioner Stavros Dimas to discuss various environmental matters.
"During the meeting, Minister Gormley confirmed that Ireland would work closely with the European Commission to ensure that Ireland's new light bulb standards will be fully consistent with the solution envisaged by the European Commission," the statement said.
Mr Gormley said he welcomed the "full engagement and support of the European Commission on Ireland's plans to set minimum energy efficiency standards for light bulbs. Mr Gormley added the Commission would accelerate its own planned regulations "in light of Ireland's intervention on the issue."
A public consultation will take place in the coming weeks and months on the issue, Mr Gormley announced.
Earlier this month a commission spokesman was quoted as saying Mr Gormley's plans were likely to run into problems because they involved banning the sale of a product that is legally for sale in other member states.
A ban would be impossible until agreed EU-wide as there would be nothing to stop a retailer sourcing bulbs in another state.
Labour TD Joanna Tuffy said correspondence she had received from the EU cast "a huge doubt" on the viability of Mr Gormley's "half-baked proposal".
Ms Tuffy, Labour's environment spokeswoman, said Mr Gormley's claims today that the Commission had given the go-ahead do not stand up to scrutiny.
She said he was being "disingenuous" in giving the impression that he has got the go ahead to his proposal to ban incandescent bulbs, when he has merely got support in principle for the idea.
"While support from EU Commissioners is certainly to be welcomed, it falls well short of the Commission giving Minister Gormley permission to take regulatory short cuts by by-passing EU Technical Standards Directives," she added.
"No such permission was given to Minister Gormley yesterday, nor could it be."
Mr Gormley has claimed special EU derogations existed for environmental measures such as the ban on smoky coal in Dublin.
The light bulb plan also ran into trouble this week when it emerged that there were potential dangers in disposing of CFL bulbs because of small traces of mercury.
The Environmental Protection Agency said it had not been asked to prepare guidelines on handling broken low-energy light bulbs, despite the issuing of a warning by the British Department of the Environment on their disposal.
But Mr Gormley said that there had been "a lot of scaremongering" in relation to the disposal of CFLs.
"We have had fluorescent lights, and this is a compact fluorescent lamp; we've had these for over 50 years, and these contain much more mercury than these compacts."
He said CFL bulbs could be disposed of under the WEEE directive by bringing them back to the shop where they are purchased.
