Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

I thank everyone for their presentations. I have a couple of broad questions and some more specific ones. How likely are we to face the €26 billion fine by 2032? As we know, the current EU iteration has watered down the green new deal to some degree. The delay in the corporate sustainability reporting directive is weakening the nature restoration law, and the scope of the EU taxonomy for sustainable activities and how economic activities are classified as environmentally sustainable have been watered down. Do we have the scope now? There is hope in some circles that the EU will water down things so much that none of us will face the fines. That suits many EU member states. What is the witnesses' take on that right now?

On Ireland’s EU Presidency, what systems do we have to put in place over the next 12 months to ensure we can actually lead? The Taoiseach’s office was mentioned in reference to driving things. At the moment, things are very disparate. There is some great work being done in local authorities on climate strategies but an issue arises with basics like littering and pollution. My council, South Dublin County Council, for example, has five litter wardens but they cannot really tackle more than a couple of big commercial dumpers. This is because the fines are not sufficient because the money is not being put in by national government. Also, there is bureaucratic inertia. I have previously raised the point that 50% of all litter is from cigarette butts. In Australia, there is a big campaign stating, “Don’t be a tosser.” It was alarmist in one sense but made the tossing of cigarette butts socially unacceptable. South Dublin County Council got back to me on this idea and said it would prefer if we used the phrase “cigarette butt disposal”. It was put into its litter strategy after much effort but I do not see any effort generally, either nationally or locally, to deal with cigarette butts, which constitute 50% of all litter.

Recently, farmers were giving out in the media about plant-based sausages and burgers and saying they should not be called sausages and burgers as it will affect them. It is a little facetious but I would like an opinion on the question raised by farmers. I say this as a vegan and in this regard I have a conflict of interest. Farmers in Ireland ask whether, if Mercosur entails the cutting-down of Amazonian forest to produce beef, it is not better to produce high-quality, grass-fed beef in Ireland. How do we counteract that from an Irish perspective, having regard to the fact that we really have to reorientate our agriculture and not increase the so-called national herd?

What are the witnesses’ opinions on culture wars and NGOs? The people who criticise the NGOs are the same people who say climate change is a hoax, spread cloud-seeding and Great Reset conspiracies, are anti-vaxxers - you name it. How much of this is funded by coal, oil and gas companies? How much of it is generated by certain parties operating troll factories in certain Eastern European countries, etc.? Is big money being spent? How much are NGOs – for example, environmental NGOs – being outspent by vested interests?