Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the mitigation plan has gone to Cabinet. However, I am worried that the Minister has not given a date for its publication. This week the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill is being pushed through the Dáil and any amount of time is being given to it. We have been advised that this is the last Dáil that will have any chance to do something about climate change, such is the seriousness of the issue.

It has been repeatedly pointed out that the failure to deal with climate change will cost a lot more. Going back to 2006, the ground-breaking Stern review pointed out that it would be 20 times cheaper to deal with climate change than with its effects. I do not have the time to go through all of the reports but the Minister is aware it is much more expensive to deal with the effects of climate change than to prevent it. The draft plan I saw was described by a non-governmental organisation as defeatist and cautious. The organisation in question has been very active on the ground and I share its concerns about the lack of ambition in the plan. Could the Minister please tell me when exactly the plan will come before us? Will it be before the end of the summer break and has it adopted a more realistic approach in respect of meeting our targets?

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