Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I might take 30 seconds and the Minister of State may wish to come in again. I put on the record of the House the achievement of Ireland and especially of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, at COP27. He was instrumental and central in finding a compromise wording that came from the EU that ultimately was the basis of brokering a deal. There is often criticism of the size of delegations and so on. Consider what was achieved by Ireland at COP27 and at COP26 as well. It was there that the Minister, Deputy Ryan, became the central figure in co-ordinating the EU approach towards loss and damage.

He built on that this year. There were other important contributions at COP27 from the Taoiseach, the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, and others but I do not think this has gotten sufficient focus in Ireland. The role the Minister played politically, with a competent team of people around him from multiple Departments, including my own, was instrumental in getting the initial EU agreement and the subsequent global one on what will now become a loss and damage fund over time.

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