Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I shall leave my questions on methodology until the private session.

We all must engage and convince people about rising global temperatures. Science has proven that global temperatures are rising but its hard to convince people when we have to put our coats on in May. People assume that we are play-acting. There must be scientific proof. Even though we know that global temperatures are rising the public think such claims are a joke. Scientific facts state otherwise. We need an educational programme like Reduce, Reuse and Recycle to bring all of the actors with us.

I am helping to organise a conference with EUFORES at Dublin Castle from 21 to 22 June. Can the Chairman confirm if the details have been circulated to members? Mr. John McCarthy rightly mentioned that breaking the link between energy and fossil fuel is our main objective. The conference is on renewable and sustainable energy, etc., and all of the MEPs and actors in Ireland will attend. I hope that an invitation will be issued to members from all of the Oireachtas committees, particularly this committee. I want everyone interested in the matter to attend as all of the energy sectors will be discussed. Can the Chairman confirm when the invitation will be circulated? I think his committee has received an invitation. The conference will be a great way to inform everyone. People cannot understand why fuel is so expensive when we have so much wind available. Ireland has the best wind production in Europe so we should examine the option.

The clerk of the committee, Mr. Eugene Ó Cruadhlaoich, did an outstanding job in compiling the many submissions. Some of the submissions are similar. Can the committee provide a graph on commonalities? The committee would benefit from a compilation of common purpose contained in the submissions.

Dr. Rory O'Donnell, NESC, stated its recommendation is different from the national expert advisory group's recommendation on heads 6 and 7. NESC recommended that we get external advisory groups to deliberate as was done for the Montreal Protocol on the ozone layer. Clearly it is up to the committee to recommend which group is used, the national expert advisory body or the new institution and oversight board recommended by NESC.