Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Before I commence, I want to correct the record of the House on the pensions issue and the anomaly of 2012, and the comments of Deputy McDonald in particular. Many groups and parties have consistently raised this issue, not least the Joint Committee on Employment Affairs and Social Protection. The Chairman, Deputy Curran, met the Minister at the committee on 28 September, and the very first question Deputy Curran put to her was about the anomaly. The report of the committee suggested the suspension of 2012, pending the review the Taoiseach alluded to. The motion was, of course, about more than just pensions. It was a much larger and much longer motion. To suggest we voted against the specific issue of pensions is distorting the truth. I have to put that on the record. That is not what happened.

On promised legislation, the programme for Government states that climate change is the global challenge of our generation and requires radical and ambitious thinking. I said earlier that we lack ambition and do not have a radical approach to meeting our climate change targets. In that context, the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Moran, responded to a question about a national flood forecasting service. We are all very strong in our commendation of Met Éireann in terms of its role in predicting and updating the country on storm Ophelia, but it has been looking for such national floods forecasting service for a long time. A steering group was established and met on 11 occasions. There has been an initial set-up phase. It is estimated that it could take five years for such a service to be established. Given the length of time that Met Éireann has been looking for such a facility and the emphasis we put on climate change, it is regrettable that we do not have this in place.

Perhaps the Taoiseach, or the relevant Minister, will indicate the measures that will undertaken to accelerate the programme for Government provision and to make sure we have that forecasting service far earlier than the five years indicated, and that full resources will be provided for the recruitment of the 15 full-time staff who will be required.

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