Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I pay tribute to my colleague, Deputy Liz McManus, who, during my period as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security, championed the need for legislation on climate change. Thanks to her work as rapporteur to the joint committee, we produced a report on the issue and were subsequently assured that the Government would introduce legislation on climate change. We asked that our report and the views expressed to the joint committee be taken into account when it was being drawn up but, lo and behold, nothing happened. Deputy McManus is to be congratulated on producing climate change legislation.

I welcome the decision to establish the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security and pay tribute to the work it has done. It was a great honour to serve as its first Chairman. Unfortunately, as with everything else in this House, good intentions were quickly abandoned and the joint committee came to be viewed as a nuisance, as a body that interfered, as it were, with the Executive.

The Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security also produced an offshore renewable energy development Bill. Published in November 2008, the Bill introduced new ideas on how the massive potential of the offshore renewable energy sector could be developed through structures for planning and zoning in areas of our seas that are suitable for offshore renewable energy development.

While a great deal of work was done on the Bill, two years later it is gathering dust. We first submitted it to the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources as this appeared to be a reasonable course of action and I am sure the Bill is still somewhere in the Department. The joint committee was informed, however, that legislation in this area was a matter for the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and that our Bill would be examined.

When one hears this one becomes despondent. It is no wonder members of the public question what the Oireachtas is doing when we establish committees before proceeding to ignore them. The Order Paper is full of reports waiting to be debated. Good work is being done by Members of both Houses who have gone to much trouble and done considerable research to produce reports. As with everything else unless a report emanates from the Government, it may as well not exist.

Dáil reform has been promised. I have cited one example of legislation that secured all-party agreement. If I were a Minister, I would grab the opportunity provided by a committee reaching all-party agreement on a Bill. I would go to the committee with my ideas and work with it to produce legislation. I would not be afraid that my position would be undermined because a Bill was produced with input from a committee. It appears that unless something is produced by a Department, it cannot be right. The current approach reflects an attitude of "What would a committee know?"

While debates of this type may help fill the day's business, they are a waste of time unless action is taken. The Government has been in power since 2007. Green Party involvement in it created a great deal of hope that it would exert influence in this area. I would be the first to state that the Minister of State opposite me, Deputy Cuffe, played an important part in the early deliberations of the joint committee. Why go to the trouble of establishing committees if one is not prepared to use them or devote time to debating the reports they produce?

All the work produced by the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security was properly researched with professional advice and following submissions from members of the public. This is the ideal way to prepare legislation as opposed to the current approach whereby the Executive produces a Bill, Second Stage is taken in the Chamber and the Bill is then sent down to the bowels of LH2000 for Committee Stage where two men and a dog, if dogs were allowed entry, examine it. In the meantime, one has a file full of representations from various interest groups seeking amendments that would avoid certain outcomes. A select committee then fights to have amendments introduced. However, amendments tabled by the Opposition are ignored because only Government amendments are accepted. These are the facts.

All the Minister needed to do in the case of the legislation we proposed was to produce heads of a Bill, ask the committee to examine it, invite members of the public to submit suggestions, have the committee report back within one month or six weeks and then draft the detail of the Bill, taking into consideration the various ideas that have been expressed. Such a Bill would pass through the House quickly because few amendments would be tabled on Committee Stage given that outside bodies would be part of the process from the outset.

Climate change and energy security are too important to ignore. Unless we address energy security and generation, we will be forced to fight a permanent battle to deal with CO2 emissions. Ireland has tremendous potential to benefit from clean, renewable energy. We should be a world leader in research in this area. Engineers should be trained on how to service wind turbines. Many ideas have been presented but we have not done anything about them. We are standing still and talking while everyone else acts. That is a terrible shame.

Not one of the buses serving Dublin runs on alternative fuel. On a visit to Sweden, we found that every bus features the slogan "Powered by Renewable Energy". What example are we showing in public transport? Years ago, we asked the Minister to ensure public transport providers and local authorities led by example by using renewable energy to power their vehicles. Here, too, nothing was done.

In my current position as Fine Gael Party spokesperson on foreign affairs, I realise the importance of climate change for developing countries. Millions of people are being shifted from one part of the world to another because the impact of climate change, whether constant flooding or drought, is making life unsustainable. At a time when the population is growing and the supply of water diminishing, people in Ireland are washing their cars with drinking water. What example are we setting? As soon as one raises the prospect of water metering there is an outcry from those who state they will not pay for water. We assume water will continue flowing every day. While people should not be required to pay for what they would normally use, excess water usage should be paid for. We should also raise awareness of the importance of water conservation.

We must lead by example by switching off machines and lights when they are not in use. How many times have Deputies leaving the House seen lights left on in Government Buildings, yet we lecture others about the importance of switching off lights? If everyone did the little things, their combined actions would add up to one big thing. The issue is one of awareness. This is not about wearing sandals and having a ponytail. Climate change affects everybody, not only the select few who campaign on the issue.

Each individual must be made aware of the importance of energy, the way in which it is or could be produced, the inward investment renewable energy could attract and the jobs that could be created, the need to conserve water, solar power and so forth. One could dwell on this subject indefinitely but the Government must give a lead. If the Government does not have time to so do, it should take up the good work being done by this joint committee and other committees on which people are spending much effort and time. Although Deputy McManus is a member of a different political party, she and many other members of the joint committee have shown great commitment to this issue and they deserve respect. The Government should not think that legislation can be ignored simply because someone else produced it. Moreover, it should not give false promises that a Bill will be published within six months, only for it not to materialise. What legislation from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is being debated at present? Members are debating a Bill about a mayor for Dublin at a time when there already are four mayors in Dublin.

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