Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I understand that. We produce so much food, yet the emissions trading only applies to slightly more than one quarter of our emissions. I would prefer to have a dinner in front of me than have the lights on. I prefer to have a plate of good food than to have the television on. I am not sure whether we can sell all of this to ordinary people.

I think it is deeply flawed. It is specifically deeply flawed in terms of agriculture. We need to do some work. It would be useful if we looked at the British Veterinary Association algorithm I have mentioned because it would help us. We have heard about elasticity and how people respond to prices. We are being told that if a person with a static income is in Waterford with no bus, the solution is to put on another jumper if he or she has one. I am not sure that is what we should be doing. I am not sure we should be telling people to set off for school by foot an hour earlier, or to turn the lights off and use a candle. Is that sort of behaviour regressive? What if people require huge amounts of energy to power their computers? It might not be so difficult to put on an extra jumper if one has an extra jumper. This is about families. We are hoping to roll out broadband to rural Ireland and everywhere else in Ireland to give people equal access to education and the world. I am concerned about people who might not be able to afford to turn on the Internet because of having to buy a new jumper. I have a problem with this approach. I am fond of figures and accountants. As politicians, we have a social and human responsibility for how people live their lives. I do not think the solution is an extra jumper.