Minister for the Environment John Gormley yesterday reiterated his determination to press ahead with a ban on incandescent light bulbs in January 2009 despite calls from one of the leading Irish manufacturers of the bulbs for a more gradual phasing in of the ban, writes Barry Roche, Southern Correspondent, in Cork.
Mr Gormley said he had met with representatives of light bulb manufacturers on Thursday and they had told him that they would much prefer if the ban on incandescent light bulbs was deferred until 2011.
"I understand that but I also made it very clear to them - and obviously they didn't like my answer - that I have to move as quickly as possible and I'm doing this in the context of our own climate change strategy. It's quite significant and we really can't hang around on this."
Mr Gormley said it was important to remember that a ban on incandescent light bulbs and their replacement by compact fluorescent lamps would account for one-third of the country's stated annual target of a 3 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.
Mr Gormley was speaking in the wake of a call from David Reynolds, sales manager with Solus, which employs 100 people in Ireland in the manufacture of 20 million light bulbs annually, to defer the ban until 2011.
Mr Gormley was in Macroom, Co Cork where he officially opened www.wastematchers. com, an initiative backed by Macroom E, Cork County Council, Cork City Council and South Cork Enterprise Board to help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.