Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I express solidarity with the tens of thousands of climate activists in Germany protesting the demolition of a village to make way for a coal mine. They have taken this stance despite the mobilisation of thousands of riot police against them and the detention and arrest of activists, including Greta Thunberg. The Minister of State might comment on the fact the Green Party's sister party is part of the German Government that is presiding over all this. Does he support the stance of his sister party or does he support Greta Thunberg and the climate campaigners?

What are the top ten carbon emitters in Ireland? In order, starting from the number one position, they are: Dublin Airport, the Drogheda cement plant, the Ballyconnell cement plant, the roads in Dublin, the Limerick cement plant, the Irving Oil refinery at Whitegate, Corrib, the Kinnegad cement plant, Shannon Airport and Cork Airport. Of those ten entities, seven are privately owned and operated on a for-profit basis and the other three are semi-State companies, but their emissions come in the main from privately-owned airlines that are also run on a for-profit basis. You cannot control what you do not own. A serious carbon action plan would move to nationalise the major carbon emitters and run them on an environmentally-sound, not-for-profit basis.

See this speech in context