Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----no doubt talking to Members about the European Council summit which will happen 40 hours later. I will have to prioritise the summit in Brussels on 14 and 15 December over going to Paris on 12 December. It would not be possible for me to attend the House to speak to Members about that crucial summit if I was to be in Paris for the two days before the summit. I will not be in Paris looking for handouts. I am happy to assure the House that that will not be the case as I will not be there.

To respond to Deputy Eamon Ryan's questions about President Macron, to the best of my recollection, he did not specifically mention any of those things. We touched on climate change and also discussed the Mercosur. Ireland and France are very much aligned in their wish to protect their respective beef industries which are more carbon efficient than beef production in South America. One thing we need to make sure we will do not do in trying to tackle climate change is displace production to other countries that are less carbon efficient than us.

We are examining the future role of the Moneypoint plant, our major coal-burning power plant, and also of the peat-fired stations as the PSO will run out in a number of years. As it is unlikely to be renewed, we will have to consider whether these stations can continue or whether they should be replaced to burn alternative fuels such as biomass.

The ten-year capital programme, on which we are working, will have a very strong climate change focus. It will not be enough to satisfy the Government's critics who include everyone present in the Chamber, apart from the Minister, Deputy Katherine Zappone, and I, but it will be a big step forward in terms of our response to climate change.

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