Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief. The reason I asked when the next meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee was due to take place was I was particularly interested to see whether there had been any progress on the proposed establishment of the national dialogue on climate change. A presentation was made to the last sub-committee by environmental groups and, to be honest, our sense is that nothing has happened since. There is a certain frustration that what is contained in A Programme for a Partnership Government will not be delivered. Progress is urgently needed because we are falling behind. The latest climate statistics are very dramatic in showing how we are going backwards rather than meeting any target. We need an extensive and creative dialogue on climate change. The underlying problem is that there is no political support in the House because there is no public support for action. I am very keen to know when the next meeting will take place. I would like to see a sub-group of the Cabinet sub-committee on the national economic dialogue established, with an independent chairperson and a budget to bring in groups involved in the agriculture, transport and energy sectors. The Government has stated it wants to do this. It has now been six months and there is no sense that it is happening. There is a certain sense of urgency at this stage because if we do not do this quickly, consultation on the national planning framework will have started, the capital review will have taken place and we will not have stitched in proper dialogue on how to start addressing climate change as one of our core visions for the future of the country.

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