Ms Siobhan Curran:

Senator Higgins has reminded me of the motion on fossil fuels passed in the Oireachtas last December following the COP. I forget the title of it but it included a commitment to the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty and to expanding or reviewing the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act. There is precedent for this being discussed in the House. There is a coherence issue. If a fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty is being supported we would expect a commitment to no new fossil fuel infrastructure. We would call for this coherence.

There are also the indications the Minister could give as part of BOGA and perhaps in discussions with the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty signatories. Beyond that, for the next government, it will be very important to see commitments in the programme for Government. We will certainly be calling for support for the fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty, if that is not achieved before then at COP, but also for the review and updating of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Act, as well as that wider piece around private finance.