Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The point is that even if there were not these international warnings from impeccable sources bringing together all of the available scientific knowledge, our own experience would tell us there is a problem. Valentia Observatory in County Kerry recorded 33.25 inches of rain in December, January and February. That was 183% of what is normal. That is clearly a huge increase. In March, there was two and a half times the normal amount of rainfall for that month. I am sure the Taoiseach has visited some of the coastal areas affected - including Cork City, Limerick and right along that necklace of little harbours and ports - and seen the way that they were battered. We know that oceans have warmed, the amount of ice and snow has diminished, sea levels have risen and the concentration of greenhouse gases has increased.

The first person I ever heard talking about this was the former Vice President of the United States, Mr. Al Gore, approximately ten years ago. At the time, what he was saying was dismissed. He prepared a really learned, knowledgeable and compelling treatise on this entire issue and, like former President Mary Robinson who has also been championing this cause, he has proven to be right. The question is, what the Government is doing about it. What is the Government doing to bring forward a comprehensive strategy on energy?

We still have not got a publication date for the Green Paper. I listened intently for such a date but the nearest the Taoiseach came to it was to say "in the near future". I asked if the climate change committee discussed the report of the international panel on climate change. Has the Taoiseach sat down and discussed it? We must not only learn from our own experience on this island but also pick up on all of these warnings. We must then take pre-emptive strategic measures to protect the environment of this island, and the planet generally, for future generations. Has the climate change committee discussed the IPCC's report?

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