Roche Suggests Ban Or Tax On Traditional Bulbs

"Climate change isn't just the responsibility of Governments. All of us, in our daily lives, have the opportunity to help the environment by the choices we make. Sometimes it just needs a little encouragement," he said after the publication of the Governments latest White Paper on Energy.

"We all know that the traditional light bulb is very inefficient. Modern CFL bulbs save 80% of the energy and last 15 times longer, so they help the environment and our pockets at the same time. Using long life lightbulbs, or Compact Fluorescent Lamps, for one year would save Ireland more than €32 million and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by several hundred thousand tonnes.

"The German Presidency of the EU has suggested an outright ban. However, this is likely to take some time. Because of the Single Market, Ireland cannot ban inefficient bulbs unilaterally but we could consider an environmental levy to change behavior, in advance of a ban, the same way we did with the plastic bag levy. I propose to include this proposal in the Government's new Climate Change Strategy which I will be launching shortly.

"Most people were very happy to change over to environmentally friendly bags, and the levy gave them the extra incentive they needed."