Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner to the meeting for an exchange of views and opinions. I hope he will have an opportunity to enjoy his visit to Ireland.

I ask for further information on the detail of the semester process, and examples of how resource efficiency thinking has worked in practice. It seems to make a lot of sense.

Deputy Coonan referred to climate change. Ireland is experiencing the effects of climate change, such as heavier rainfall, which has a significant impact on agriculture. For many farmers, land that would normally be used for grazing cattle is under water. Our cattle are grazed rather than grain-fed. The land is flooded and it is a question of where to put the cattle and how to feed them. I acknowledge this is the effect of human activity leading to climate change.

I ask the Commissioner to give his view on the use of genetically modified crops, which is a controversial issue. I refer to the fossil fuel framework, which is part of the Commissioner's work. Shale gas exploration has hit the headlines in this country. We view this issue with a feeling of disbelief that something that could be so economically valuable to the country could also be devastating in its impact on the environment. What is the timeline for the framework? We need to know whether exploration will be a positive or a negative option for Ireland. I imagine it can be a challenge for the Commissioner to get people to look at the bigger picture, to realise that we are all interdependent as countries and globally. An action in one region can have an impact on the whole world. This is a responsibility we all share.

I sometimes wonder how those of us in Ireland, which is a small country, can encourage our counterparts in larger countries, which use so many resources and which cause so much pollution, to think as we do.