Mary White (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party)

I am delighted to speak again in the House on the issue of climate change but when I heard Fine Gael's Deputy Hogan speaking on climate change it reminded me of the graveyard scene in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" when he says, "Alas, poor Yorick!". Alas, poor Deputy Hogan, a fellow of infinite jest. It is obvious Fine Gael does not understand or has deliberately misunderstood climate change. Perhaps Deputy Hogan was absent without leave, AWOL, during the Green Party's constructive input into tackling climate change in the past year.

Just over six months ago when this House had a similar debate on climate change Fine Gael's Deputy Coveney stated: "I contend also that my party, a big catch-all party, has not perhaps offered enough insistence and leadership in this area, but that must change". It is a bit rich for Deputy Hogan to start throwing stones from glass houses about greenhouse gas emissions.

Above and beyond party politics I can assure the House that my party in Government is delivering real and significant reforms in the way Ireland is behaving in terms of its contribution to tackling climate change. Contrary to assertions by Deputy Hogan, the reform of VRT and motor tax would not have been purely emissions based were the Green Party not in government. An emissions based system has already led to a radical rethink of the type of cars people drive. One has only to look at the advertisements and read the newspapers to see that people are taking heed of the way we drive our cars, and car manufacturers are producing cars to meet this global climate change threat. Deputy Hogan talked about the repercussions of the reforms taking effect in July but converting systems takes time. It is better to get the system right rather than rush through a radical reform without paving the way.

Other important reforms such as new energy efficiency standards, planning exemptions for certain renewable energy generators and the planned ban on the sale of incandescent light bulbs will save over 700,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per year. These are radical measures which have required transition phases but which are important components in the Government's programme of combating climate change. Recent proposals for offsetting Government business flights is an example of the Government practising what it preaches.

My colleague, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Ryan, has been equally energetic in moving the economy towards more renewable sources of energy. The home energy saving scheme is accessible and innovative. His reform of the refit scheme for wind energy and the encouragement of new forms of green energy such as anaerobic digestion, which will be a fantastic source for local agriculture to get rid of raw products in a sustainable way by flaring off the methane to heat houses, schools and hospitals, is the way to go.

The introduction soon of net metering will allow consumers to sell electricity back to the grid and other green energy forms going back into this natural grid will reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels. These are significant moves in the direction of a post-carbon society and economy.

There is no doubt that policies and attitudes in many areas of combating climate change must be constantly reviewed and re-evaluated. Those involved in the current debate on bio-fuels — nationally, globally and in my own party — are acutely aware and engaged in the issue. Many issues concerning net carbon savings, food prices, deforestation, the destruction of carbon sinks and the repercussions for the developing world are now associated with the first generation of bio-fuels. We must look at the second generation. Looking at the tops and tails of the beet, waste, straws and slurries we will be able to generate these fuels for our cars without compromising the need for food versus fuel. Bio-fuels using resources such as these wastes and not requiring land changes must be researched at length and prioritised.

All parties in the House should join the debate on bio-fuels to ensure it does not become another partisan petty squabble on the wider issue of climate change. Above all, as fuel prices soar and the debate on climate change deepens, we must protect those on low income from fuel poverty, particularly as we head into the autumn and winter. After a year in government, my party is delivering significant reforms in its campaign to tackle climate change.

Before I finish I want to return to Shakespeare, where I started:

All the world's a stage,

and all the men and women merely players.

Each one plays his part but we in the Green Party have a leading role in this. There has been no time for a dress rehearsal. Climate change is the greatest moral imperative of our time. We, in the Green Party, are driving change. We are delivering reform and are delighted to be in government in these extraordinary times in which we live to implement these policies.

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