Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have one more question in the brief time that remains in my slot. It relates to climate change. In previous years, the ECB and the central banks it co-ordinates have often had too great a focus on price stability, unlike the US Federal Reserve, which also has a focus on creating full employment. The president of the ECB, Christine Lagarde, recently stated that climate change affects all the bank's policy areas and that a new climate change unit has been established. This decision, an ECB press release stated, "reflects the growing importance of climate change for the economy". It seems to tie in with the EU's efforts to initiate a green new deal with a just transition, which is necessary if Europe is to reach its targets.

It is clear that in order to do this, massive investment is required in green technology. Economists working in the climate area argue that spending of 2.5% of GDP on green investment and just transition is required but our Minister for Finance is arguing that we must start to reduce our spending and reduce our rate of borrowing. At the same time, the Tánaiste has been warning that inflation is about to take off, despite the fact that the EU has spent the past decade fighting deflation. Does the Central Bank accept that EU states must have access to the kind of funding required for large-scale green investment projects and that it is necessary to increase investment in these technologies if the EU is to come anywhere close to reaching its targets?