Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have not yet given any consideration to establishing a special committee to consider the report of the Citizens' Assembly on climate change. I am open to the idea, but I imagine that Deputy Hildegarde Naughton's committee would be able to do that work. I am, however, open to the suggestion of establising a special committee if Members believe there should be a discrete committee. As the Deputy's committee covers the issue of climate change, I imagine that it could do just as well. I have looked at the report of the Citizens' Assembly on climate change and it is a good one. I am also conscious that the assembly very much followed its terms of reference. It was asked how we could make Ireland a leader in tackling the issue of climate change. As I said, like all-party committees, when one looks at something in isolation, one comes up with a particular set of solutions. The Citizens' Assembly absolutely set out how we could become a leader in tackling the issue of climate change. If the terms of reference had been different - for example, if the Citizens' Assembly had been asked to consider how Ireland could become a leader in tackling the issueof climate change without impacting negatively on employment in rural areas - we might have had a different set of recommendations. All of the recommendations made by the assembly would improve our response to climate change, but some of them would also have negative consequences. For example, increasing the carbon tax would certainly increase the level of poverty. We know this because that is what all of the studies show. Taxing farmland would have an impact on the rural economy and so on. There is always a down side to these things. However, the Citizens' Assembly has produced a really good report which shows how Ireland could become a leader in tackling climate change, but it did not look at other stuff such as how to avoid increasing the level of poverty and impacting negatively on the rural economy, including employment and trade. The role of the Government and the Oireachtas is to look at things in the round, not in isolation. Project Ireland 2040 includes some very important statements on what we intend to do about climate change to meet our 2030-50 targets. Members will be aware that from next year new buses added to the fleet will be low emission vehicles. From 2025 coal will be removed from the grid and the Moneypoint power station will move to using a cleaner fuel. Peat will also be removed from the grid. In 2030 there will be a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles. Subsequent to that report, the Government has indicated very strongly where it intends to go in the next couple of years. However, we always need to be mindful of the other consequences of any policy change.

With regard to Ireland's overseas development aid contribution, the Government understands Ireland will increase the figure to 0.7% of GNP by 2030. We have a long way to go in that regard. We were almost there before the financial crisis when we were at a figure of nearly 0.5% or 0.6%. It is now just below 0.3%. A lot of it has to do with Ireland's GNP going up, even though we have been increasing the overseas development aid budget, in cash terms, in the past few years.

We will do so again next year because our GNP is increasing even faster. We are falling behind slightly, as we have worked out that if we did want to get to 0.7% of GNP by 2030 we would need to increase the budget by approximately €150 million a year every year between now and 2030, and €150 million is a lot of money given the various demands that are on us from all sorts of other sectors, not least health, housing and disability. That is something we will have in the mix for the next budget. It is something I really want to do. It is part of what we should do as a small country as good global citizens. If we are ever going to deal with some of the major security problems we face around the world, or problems linked to issues such as mass migration, we have to reduce the push factors. It is the right thing to do but being able to find the money will be a real challenge. If Britain, Norway and the Netherlands can do it surely we can do it too.

On childhood obesity, it is a while since I updated myself on what we are doing, but there are things people are aware of already. There is the sugar tax which has just come into play and the Healthy Ireland programme, which is designed to encourage people, not least children, to have healthier lifestyles. Expanding PE in schools is very important. It has been brought in as a proper subject for the leaving certificate for the first time. There is ongoing investment not just in sports capital but also in sports facilities in communities and in participation. When we fund the sporting bodies we always make sure that we ring-fence some money for participation so it does not all go into the high-performance programmes and the elite athletes. It is also for participation.

Another piece of legislation I know is on the way is on calorie posting, which is putting on menus what the calorie content of food is. It is remarkable when we see this in action. I have seen it in action in some places throughout the world. The meal one thinks has a lot of calories in it often does not. I often tell the story of the restaurant in Miami and the day I decided to order the burger instead of the Caesar salad. I did not realise there were so many calories in Caesar salad but there are. These days salads are largely sauce delivery systems rather than salads at all. It will help people a lot.

I also think we need to be wise to the issue of parental responsibility. I know there are enormous social determinants and social risk factors, but we should not entirely let parents off the hook. Parents do have responsibility for their children and exercise can be free. Although it is difficult, even on a relatively low income one can eat healthily, and people did for centuries on much lower incomes than we have now. It has to be a combination of Government measures but we should not allow parents to avoid responsibility either.

On the cybersafety report, I have to confess I have not read it yet. I do have it because Deputy Farrell gave it to me, but I have not had a chance to read it yet with a lot of other things going on over the past couple of weeks, but I will definitely read it. I know exactly where it is. It is on an armchair in my living room.