Chris Andrews (Dublin South East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Sargent for sharing time. I commend the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security on its excellent work in producing its Bill. It is heartening that Members from all parties worked together constructively on an issue of not only national but also global importance. It would be nice to see the same sense of working towards the common good extended to other policy areas.

The Bill produced by the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security has assigned responsibility for co-ordinating and enforcing action on climate change to the Department of the Taoiseach. While I understand the reasoning behind this, as explained by the committee, I am not sure that the Department of the Taoiseach is the most appropriate office to drive such reform. However, I agree that rather than responsibility being spread out among various Ministers and Departments, there should be a more centralised point of responsibility. I welcome the proposal to establish an office of climate change and renewable energy, and a climate change commission.

The current economic difficulties are not surprisingly the most pressing concern to every Member of this House and the public. However, the interlinked issues of climate change and energy security are without doubt among the most pressing global issues of our time. As a country we must work to reduce our emissions across every sector and play our part in ensuring security for future generations. The impact of global warming was witnessed at first hand last year when we had an unprecedented amount of rainfall resulting in devastation for countless families across the country. Rather than it being a freak event, experts at the time attributed it to the very real impact of climate change. The devastation of last year's rainfall drove home the need for real action on this issue. Last month it was reported that Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions had fallen for the first time in 20 years. A number of factors contributed to this, including, primarily, the recession. However, I have no doubt that measures taken to improve our efficiency have also contributed to this reduction. Despite this dramatic reduction, Ireland's emissions are still 10% above our Kyoto target. While I understand the work on the Government's climate change Bill is well advanced, I call for the heads of the Bill to be published as soon as possible. This issue is simply too important to be delayed any longer and I appeal to the Minister of State to ensure the legislation proceeds at speed.

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