Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

At the risk of straining the metaphor, in terms of emissions the good ship Ireland is not the flagship of the fleet. It is, as Deputy Gilmore pointed out, a leaky old tub but Captain Roche has appeared and said all is fine because he met a fellow who will get us a few pumps from Kazakhstan and patch up some of the other ships. I suggest we fix the good ship Ireland's emissions, patch up the leaks and do not spoil the ship for a hapworth of tar. We need to simply reduce, repair, set targets, examine the charts and steer safely into port. This is all I ask.

I share Sir Nicholas Stern's belief that a stitch in time saves nine. As everyone else is arguing, we must get our ship in order. This is a good analogy. We must be prepared to make changes by altering course sooner rather than later. Simple measures, such as setting annual targets for reductions and reporting annually to the Oireachtas to give Members a report card informing us of how we are doing, are crucial.

I take issue with the Minister's use of the word "foolhardy" to describe setting good targets. This is not a foolhardy approach but a matter of providing leadership when the future of the planet is at stake. The people want such leadership and the Green Party is prepared to provide it.

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