Mr. Colm Byrne:

I reiterate what Mr. Healy and Mr. Crowley said. We have seen multiple red flags over the past 18 months. To wait for a declaration of famine is not really acceptable. It is to imply that people should suffer but that there is a certain level of suffering at which we suddenly draw a red line and say "This is enough".

On the resistance to loss and damage, I must say that it is the EU, the US, and Australia and others. Part of the resistance is a refusal to acknowledge the historic accountability and the risk of litigation. The establishment of a loss-and-damage fund in some ways would replace that. It is about trust in many ways. Ultimately, however, it is about accountability.

The question was asked about what parliamentarians can do. It is about telling the story, keeping this visible, and keeping it on the agenda of Government. I do not just mean within the Oireachtas; I also mean within the communities where we live and to understand the implications of our own individual and collective responsibility for climate change and acknowledging that while we may have the luxuries we have here, there are many people in other parts of the world who do not have the buffer against the sorts of climatic implications we are seeing right now. There is also the opportunity to impress upon parliamentarians in other countries. This is where we talk about Ireland being first in providing that progressive leadership. The opportunity then is to provide that on the international stage and encourage other member states and parliamentarians elsewhere to make similar decisions.

I apologise that I misunderstood the Vice Chairman's previous question on the climate finance and the €100 billion element. Recent research by Oxfam suggests that the amount being paid is only about one quarter. It is very hard to really understand the numbers clearly because of the way in which they are presented and the formal reporting mechanisms.