Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The witness has placed an importance on having an independent climate change commission with the power to publish its own results. Will he elaborate on this and speak of its benefits? We have had a variety of witnesses before us today which included the Irish Dairy Council. I take the point on board regarding the balance of agriculture and the extent to which the sector is livestock-based. The council made the argument that because we have a very sustainable model from an international perspective taking into account the unit of production, the targets could be spread across Europe. I would like to hear Mr. Harte's opinion on whether agriculture should be catered for within our national envelope of responsibility, for the want of a better description. A Green Paper is expected in 2015 and there is an idea that Europe is moving towards an approach taking in the whole of Europe as opposed to an individual country. I value any contribution in this regard.

Many of the constituent organisations before us include young people, for example, and the intergenerational aspect has been raised today. Given that young people will predominantly pick up the tab on the far end if we do not get policy right, how will we engage them in a more inclusive way? They have more of a stake than we who may be a little beyond youth.