Mr. Niall McLoughlin:

Ireland cosponsored the UN resolution for a right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment earlier in the year. There have also been moves at the Security Council level, and Ireland has been on that level, around integrating the security risks associated with climate. I understand if I am not being clear. Ireland absolutely supports efforts to address loss and damage. Yesterday, the EU environment ministers agreed the bloc's negotiating position with a call to promptly strengthen existing institutions, provide support and deliver concrete solutions, including through a new agenda item that would make full use of the Glasgow dialogue. Those conclusions form the basis of our negotiating mandate. It is through the EU that we are negotiating. I can only reiterate the steps Ireland has made both in the context of the working parties and in the expert groups informed by representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs. Concrete steps and measures have been taken to bring proposals to really challenge member states in this space. I assure the committee that Ireland will be among the most ambitious member states.

I know what Senator Higgins is saying about Denmark. If we were to go line by line through the various different funding streams, there is no doubt that we could extract different things some of the funding we have provided, because it is so grant based and because it responds to what is happening on the ground. There are things in our support for multilateral funds that we could package as loss and damage. What we are looking for here is to make actual progress. The world is looking to Sharm El-Sheikh, to COP, for progress in this space. It will be the defining issue. If I am reticent about going ahead of other EU member states as we have just reached conclusions around negotiating positions and the work that needs to be undertaken, I apologise. However, I assure the committee that it is all in the context of trying to ensure we go as a united bloc, to make sure the full weight of the EU can be brought to bear on what will be the most important negotiating at COP. I just wanted to make that point.