Vincent P Martin (Green Party)
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I thank the Chair. Deputy Haughey's question was a good one. I hope the witnesses think about it because they would be wonderful additions but they must have the calling. I spoke to someone I had not seen in a number of years who had entered the seminary as a priest. He did not stay for too long and only did a couple of years. When I asked him about it he said he did not have a vocation but his mother had one for him. He realised he did not have it himself. It has to come from within. There are many types of callings in politics. There are advisers in the background and people involved in communications. Without telling the witnesses who know so much what to do, perhaps they could put their toes in the water by checking out student union politics. This would give them a flavour and taste for it. The witnesses are wonderful ambassadors. This has been insightful session. I am sorry I had to leave to go to the Seanad and I privately apologised to the Chair. I returned because it is wonderful the witnesses are here.

I have several questions that are not connected. A bugbear of mine has been the lack of law on the curriculum at second level. Until a few years ago I was trying to demystify the law in second level schools with the public access to law programme. Do the witnesses agree it is a shame it is not on the State curriculum? The function of a proper legal system is part of the democratic process

I know the witnesses are discerning and they have the undoubted capacity but do they have the time to analyse, assess and differentiate between advocates of various methods of how to tackle climate change? I have not met a politician who is against tackling climate change. I am not politicising it and I will not say what party I or anyone else is in. It can be a generalisation. Do the witnesses have time to drill down a little bit? They are leaders. Some people say they are totally in favour of tackling climate change but might be utterly against any imposition of carbon tax or considering water as a finite resource, even among the most well-off. There are people with the genuinely held view, with which I do not agree, that cutting sod turf should not be stopped. They say they are totally in favour of tackling climate change but that sod turf should remain. I do not want the witnesses to tell me the differential results of it but have they had an opportunity to drill down behind the slogan on tackling climate change and look at what people want to do in this respect? I am not necessarily speaking about party politics but individuals. There is a wide sphere of approaches to this biggest challenge facing humanity. I would love to get the views of the witnesses on this. Do they assess various ways of taking tangible steps to achieve the desired response?