Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Taoiseach was particularly thrilled at the election of a fellow conservative in Australia. Like Ireland, one of the big challenges that faces Australia is climate change. We are all aware from Irish people, including relatives, living in Australia of severe forest fires in the vicinity of many of the big cities. Much of the election, in the case of the National Party, centred on the issue of mining and climate change proposals to reduce reliance on fossil fuels. The Australian election was probably won on quite Trumpian grounds. The Taoiseach spoke earlier, in his long ramble, of the fact that he had published a climate change policy. When he was talking to the Australian Prime Minister, did he discuss climate change because the issue we have most in common in terms of threats to our way of life is the danger we face from climate change? I appreciate that the document the other day was full of laudable aims but there was not a great deal of delivery. The Taoiseach wheeled out one adapted bus for the Cabinet to take to Grangegorman. How desperate does the Taoiseach have to get for publicity?

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