Mr. Maurice Sadlier:

I thank Ms Finan. This is not a specific response to what has been asked but I will return to what was said by Deputy Brady. Young people are fed up, annoyed and tired of how slow the response has been. I recently met an impressive young woman from Kenya who said that young people's voices in climate change must move from the streets to the halls where decisions are made and change happens. Young people are sick of being left on the outside while lip service is being paid on the inside. The media coverage of COP26 has been brilliant. I have never known a COP meeting to get so much media coverage, but I am also asking how much bluster is happening there. There has really been a lot of big talk but we need action now. Deputy Clarke asked when we need to see action and we need it now. In fact, it is already too late for some places. I have met people from Papua New Guinea who have had to move their entire community from their island because it is going under. People are already losing their homes. They have left behind the graveyards where their ancestors are buried. They have had to move because of climate change. It is too late for some communities. They will never recover. We need to make sure we do not continue to let that happen.

I had the privilege to work for Mary Robinson for three and a half years, at which time I got to meet many people who told desperate stories of how their lives were impacted by climate change. I have been working in development for 15 years now and it is not getting better for some people. In fact, it is getting worse. Climate change is eroding everything. If you look at recent reports coming out of South Sudan and you look at security, people are being displaced because of floods which are a direct impact of climate change, which is causing conflict. People are on the move because of climate change. It is happening here and now. We can no longer continue to wait, we must take action. That means providing the finance, capacity building and support for our official development assistance, plus our support for increased climate finance. It also means taking serious action at home. What right do I have to sit in Dublin, burning coal and driving my fossil fuel car, when my friends on Sherbro Island are sinking? That is the challenge we must face. We really need to cop on now. We do not have time.