Ciarán Cuffe (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)

I will try to proceed quickly.

I want Ireland to play its part in the international climate change process. Through our own work - I have attended several Environment Councils in Europe - Ireland is at the fore with the other member states in pushing for international agreement as quickly as possible. The answer lies in global transition and in a significant global step-change to set the world on a new low carbon path. We have to look beyond the current economic downturn and plan to ensure that economic growth is environmentally sustainable in terms of carbon intensity, resource efficiency and climate resilience. I see strong signs of this already happening in Ireland. There are good news stories out there at present. As Deputies Coveney and McManus know, our renewable generation of electricity is approximately 15%, which is the second highest in Europe. This is a real change that has been made in a few short years. The US Secretary of Energy, Stephen Chu, was here last week and he was looking at how Ireland has been able to achieve such important success in such a short time.

We need legislation but we also need regulation and change in Government policy. Much of that change in policy is happening. In agriculture there is the quality assurance scheme for Irish meat and the UK-based Carbon Trust is involved in measuring the carbon production of Irish meat. This is a good news story in comparison to other forms of cultivation. In the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government there are changes in building regulations and in the Department of Transport in the changes in taxation measures on new vehicles. These are significant changes that are happening here and now.

Yes, we need legislation and we are on the cusp of the heads of the Bill being presented to the Oireachtas. It will be groundbreaking legislation and we intend to get it right. The legislative proposal under development will go beyond ensuring compliance with our EU and wider international commitments. The Green Party in Government is determined to ensure the legislation enacted will not only enshrine the policies and principles to reflect the core national objective of playing a real and progressive role in the global fight against climate change, but will also act as a driver towards achieving a more sustainable future across all sectors of society in Ireland. It is my intention that the Government Bill will be both innovative and inspirational, and I look forward to a frank and honest public debate in both Houses and with all stakeholders when further details are announced shortly.

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