Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I am delighted to have an opportunity to contribute to the debate and to comment on the climate change Bill the Government should have brought before us. With the shadow of a terrible recession over us, some people suggest that the last thing we should worry about is climate change, emissions and so on because we have a pile of other problems. That is not right and it would be foolish for the Government or its successor to turn its back on policies that would mean a major change in the way we do the business, think and invest.

As Deputy Mitchell stated, it is difficult to get ordinary people excited at the moment about this subject, which is close to the Minister of State's heart. Even in good times, it was difficult to get this issue across. I come from a rural background but it is hugely important for where I come from that the climate change strategy be successful. It should be handled in a straightforward and sensible way in order that there will no daft things done that will cause some sectors of the community to be saddled with unjustified and unnecessary costs.

I have a great interest in climate change. The only time people get overly excited about the issue is when there is a huge spike in the cost of petrol and diesel at the pumps or if there is the slightest talk of a scarcity of oil. Everyone then starts talking about alternative fuels but the day the pump runs dry on me in Mountbellew is not the day to talk about what could be done as an alternative because a huge lead-in period is needed to address this issue. If one wants to change a culture, one has to do it in many ways. The overall corporate image has to change and great leadership, particularly political leadership, is needed to get the citizens of a country like ours to genuinely believe that their best interests are served by clean fuels, lower emissions and so on. They do not see that as being of practical financial use to them at the moment.

Fossil fuels, which we import, were cheap. The problem now is the price of petrol and diesel at the pumps is creeping up every month. It was €1.30 a litre yesterday when I was filling my car. It is not long since it was €1.25 a litre and it is only a few months since it was €1.18 a litre. Most people would not notice the cost of petrol and diesel as long as they could get a fill and get on with their work. However, there was a huge spike in the price to €1.50 a litre two years ago and when that happens, alternative energy supplies become hugely important. We need to get down to business to put alternatives in place.

There are always great debates about what agricultural land should be used for throughout the world. Most people suggest it is a farmer's job to grow food to feed the world and that is basically what we do. The problem about this is that for many years, because of market distortions of one description or another in Europe and elsewhere, there were occasions when we had to pay people to keep their land idle. In other words, it suited better that farmers did not sow anything on their land for a few years and this is known as the famous set aside system. That could hardly be right even in the context of this debate. If that land could be used to grow biomass corps such as willow to replace expensive fossil fuels, we would not need half the €6 billion worth of oil we import and that would make a significant difference to our balance of payments. The problem is I am not sure whether the Government or another government will be able to catch on to this.

As a farmer, I will commit my land to a crop that gives me a profit the same as someone who wants to open a supermarket. If one thinks one is going to make money on it, that is what one is there for. Great strides were made and the incentives were reasonably good but the problem is there was a break in the chain and we have a number of processors who have tonnes of product but they are unable to shift of it. In other words, there has been a breakdown in the link between them and the market. I do not know who is to blame for that because I do not know enough about it. The processors could give me a contact to grow willow, for instance, but I am not sure I will get paid for it when I deliver to them and, in turn, they will not pay me unless they are sure they can get it to the market. That chain is broken. If the Minister of State wants to give this process a good name, he had better get over this bottleneck in the system.

There are many aspects to climate change. I am not one of those who buys into the idea because I live in the middle of an area hit by the worst floods I ever saw this time last year. I have never seen water so deep but then I was told by OPW officials that one can only expect a flood of that severity every 200 years. I do not know how sure they can be it will be another 200 years because some of the rivers are extraordinarily high today. However, we watch reports of earthquakes, volcanoes, floods and so on, and I do not know whether it is because they are all beamed into our homes around the world, which did not happen 50 years ago, that our knowledge is greater. However, I have not been convinced by anybody who says anything that has happened had happened before. I do not subscribe to that view and that is no reason to fail to address climate change. We have a huge economic reason to go down this road from the point of view of sustainability. The economics of the future will be dictated by how smart and green we become but there is a job of work that needs to be done and the Government does not appear to be delivering on it.

It is not all bad news. I am impressed by the warmer homes scheme.

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