Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)
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The climate emergency, tackling climate change, the climate action plan, the Oireachtas committee and the Citizens' Assembly are all very recent. They are all in transition. It is not like a seven-year economic plan where we deal with it as we go along. ICTU is the crucial social partner dealing with this, and it has to be dealt with. Anybody who properly represents people and has respect for people is not for a moment suggesting there be a diminution of people's rights or a diminution of opportunity and believes that every citizen counts. My difficulty is that I cannot see how we can expect nirvana and a sort of deus ex machina,that almost everything will be put right and we will deal with climate change at the same time. If we are going to make an omelette, we have to break eggs and it is going to be a painful and difficult process. We have to have faith in each other. That is all I am saying.