We lead way on light bulb ban - Gormley

Using light bulbs to heat houses was very inefficient, Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said.

He said his counterparts in Europe and Greenpeace were impressed that Ireland was "leading the way in introducing this initiative. We led the way in introducing the plastic bag levy and the smoking ban.

"Those in Greenpeace have said to me that this is a fantastic opportunity for Ireland to also lead the way in terms of sustainability." Mr Gormley was replying to questions on on his proposal to ban the use of incandescent light bulbs from January 2009.

He said that Sustainable Energy Ireland figures indicated that approximately 18 per cent, or 1,323 gigawatt hours, of electricity used in the residential sector was accounted for by domestic lighting in 2004, equivalent to 860,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

"Given that modern compact fluorescent lamps typically use only 20 per cent of the energy consumption of their incandescent alternatives, this indicates that savings of the order of 700,000 tonnes per annum could be achieved from domestic lighting if incandescent lamps are fully replaced in all domestic light fittings."

He said that he intended shortly to establish an interdepartmental group to advise him on the technical basis on which a standard should be developed, any requirements in EU legislation with which he must comply and the potential impacts of the proposal on specific groups.

Labour spokeswoman Joanna Tuffy suggested that the Minister's calculation of the level of savings in tonnage of CO2 emissions from the introduction of this measure were faulty.

"He made an assumption that 80 per cent of energy generated from incandescent light bulbs will be wasted, but that is not the case. Much of the 80 per cent of energy that does not generate light generates heat in homes," she said.