Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I dtús báire ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gComhaontas Glas as ucht an rún seo a chur os comhair na Dála. Faraor, bhí ar an bpáirtí é a dhéanamh in ainneoin go raibh agus go bhfuil reachtaíocht i gceist. Chuir sé an Bille sin os comhair na Dála breis agus bliain ó shin. Is mór an náire é sin. Guím gach rath ar an Aire ina ról nua. Tá súil agam go mbeidh de mhisneach aige rud a dhéanamh agus dul i ngleic leis an dúshlán atá i gceist ó thaobh athrú aeráide de. Táim beagáinín amhrasach tar éis an méid a dúirt sé anocht, go háirithe nuair a dúirt sé nach bhfuil sé chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don rún seo.

I wish the Minister the best in his new role. I really hope that he hits the ground running because we have no choice, but I am a little doubtful after listening to him tonight. He spoke about waiting until he had stacked up the evidence, and how he cannot impose costs and that he will abstain but there is no abstention in climate change; there is no more waiting to stack up the evidence, the evidence is overwhelming. As repeatedly pointed out in this Chamber, the day before the budget we learned of the report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, that makes clear that there is no safe level of global warming. It highlights the urgency that pertains to climate change, that climate change is a problem for the here and now and that we, as policy makers, must do something and have the conviction to do something.

All the figures have been quoted on plastic itself. We know there is an area three times the size of France, that 13 million tonnes of plastic end up in the world's oceans, that plastic pollution damages our marine environments and the cost is like Monopoly money, €8 billion. We know from the World Economic Forum that by 2050 there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. Costs differ depending on to whom one listens. The Climate Action Network Europe has told us that non-compliance costs €500 million. The senior fellow at the Institute for International and European Affairs, IIEA has told us that the costs will be €3.7 billion, or €5.5 billion by 2030. I could go on, but the most fundamental statistic is that it is the poorer people who will suffer the most, the same people who contribute least to climate change. Nevertheless, we are sitting here with another Minister and a budget that utterly failed to recognise the urgency of the action needed in climate change. Our legislation, our mitigation plan and action did not come from nowhere; we were forced into all that legislation as we will be forced into passing the Bill being brought forward by the Green Party. That is because we have to do it, we have absolutely no choice. We signed up under the Paris Agreement along with 195 other countries. Every single monitoring body tells us we are failing in our commitment. The Taoiseach spoke of the challenge of Brexit but I would say that pales into insignificance compared with the challenge posed by climate change. If this Government does not recognise that we will be in serious trouble.

The clock is ticking so I will finish, but I hope the Minister has the sense to realise that delay is no longer acceptable.

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