Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I thank Ms Justice Laffoy for that useful clarification. My second question may be in contrast to some of what has been said before. My conclusion from this is not that it is up to politicians to educate the public, it is, rather, that people who are informed are very far ahead of the politicians. That was the case when the people voted on the eighth amendment. There is a very big contrast between these recommendations and the actions of numerous Governments involving all the major political parties. The recommendations stand in stark contrast to the reality of Irish policy on the environment. Was that a feature of the discussion? The Citizens' Assembly has said that the State should take a leadership role in addressing climate change. The reality is that Ireland is a laggard, even in EU terms, in addressing climate change. The Climate Action Network has found that Ireland is the second worst EU member state in this category. Was that discussed when this radical action - that climate action should be put at the centre of public policy - was recommended? The reality is that the actions of the political establishment point in the opposite direction. Was there a discussion about the possibility of EU fines for missing the emissions targets? Were things like that a feature of the discussion?