Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

We should definitely have a campaign internationally to have the Irish overseas convince their universities or towns to go green. It would be very nice to achieve this at home also. One should bear in mind many foreign tourists come to Ireland over the St. Patrick's Day period, at which time the tourism season really begins. Tourists would comment if they noticed the entire city of Cork or Galway, or various towns, had gone green. I agree with Deputy Dooley, however, that this should be achieved from the bottom up. It is not expensive and special lights are not needed; it is just a matter of putting a green film over the lights. It is not an initiative that should require the involvement of the Government. It should be done from the bottom up as a local initiative. Perhaps we can kick it off as an idea and challenge people to go green.

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