David Norris (Independent)

I hope there is courage not just on these benches but also on the Government benches to tackle this important matter. I congratulate Senator Bacik on producing this Bill. I am delighted she has been elected a Member. She has justified my hopes in her by hitting the ground running, speaking on the Order of Business at the first sitting, putting a Bill down and speaking on the Adjournment.

I also greatly welcome Senator Boyle's elevation to the House. He said there is the possibility of some arrangement in taking this Bill. I hope it will not be amended, voted down or laid to rest on the Order Paper. Will the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government give a firm commitment by indicating dates for the Bill's passage? Can we have this before Christmas? It is good all sides of the House are prepared to accept legislation. That is good democratic co-operative Government for which this House was intended. I have spoken to Senator Bacik and the primus inter pares, Senator O'Toole, and we will be putting down legislation on domestic partnership drafted by myself and Senator Bacik before she was elected. I hope it will be met with an equal welcome.

I congratulate Senator Bacik on the Climate Control Bill because of its simplicity, clarity and directness. It provides the definitions by what is meant by particular gasses, sets targets and establishes a strategy. It also sets out the action to be taken in case these targets are not met, proposing a commission to examine the reasons. It is not just a knee-jerk reaction; it addresses these issues to ensure such a transgression will not recur.

Climate change is the single most significant event on this planet. The planet is like an aircraft on which we are all passengers, all with an equal investment and interest in it arriving at its destination safely. However, there is a clear and present danger that it might not. On board this aircraft there are lunatic hijackers who want to take it over for their own reasons. They are the corporations and governments, such as the US President Bush, and the German Government, that will not acknowledge the problem of climate change. I was appalled that Chinese-made environmentally friendly and low-energy consuming lightbulbs were prevented from being imported into the EU by the German Government in order to protect its domestic industry. That selfish attitude is a disgrace to the EU and should be stopped.

On our aircraft there is also the equivalent of those afflicted by air rage, the climate-change deniers. They are lunatics. Last summer, I took the trouble to accept an invitation — unfinanced — from the Norwegian foreign ministry to visit the Arctic to see the effects of climate change. It is very frightening. In the past year, an area of permanent sea ice the size of the state of Texas has disappeared from the Arctic forever. Today's weather is very humid. I am 63 years of age and we have never had humidity like this before in Ireland. We must recognise our climate is changing.

I put down a motion on the Order Paper which was gazumped by the viper in my bosom, Senator Bacik, who brilliantly got her Bill taken. My motion called on Seanad Éireann to take note of the Environmental Protection Agency's report, Key Meteorological Indicators of Climate Change in Ireland. The report stated a stronger warming trend was apparent in Ireland and globally in the 1930s and 1940s.

The 1990s has been the warmest decade in the Irish instrumental record. This is consistent with experience in the UK. I have mentioned the hot days, humidity and so on. A hot day actually has a scientific meaning. It is defined as one where the mean daily temperature exceeds 14° centigrade, where a "cold day" has a mean below 0° centigrade. A clear indication of a trend exists in both these parameters as established by scientific facts.

In midland locations such as Birr and Kilkenny, the number of cold days has halved over the past five decades while the number of hot days has roughly doubled. This is Ireland, which brings matters home to roost. Our own small island is noticeably and directly affected. My colleague and friend, Senator Joe O'Toole, referred humorously to the butterflies in the Amazon. That struck a little echo in my mind because butterflies are very important. There is something in this report I want to draw to the Minister's attention because it might, perhaps, be done without enormous investment. We need a comprehensive butterfly survey because we are on the margin of the population probably for a very considerable number of butterflies. They have become a very sensitive indicator that we can use to gauge the extent of climate. We need not denigrate the humble butterfly.

I mentioned the second major cause. Perhaps not everyone in the Chamber will agree, but I believe this is the elephant in the room, namely, the world population explosion. Since I did my leaving certificate and entered Trinity College, the population on this planet has doubled. This cannot happen without serious consequences. This factor lies behind not only a significant proportion of the global warming effects but also behind the resource wars, the tensions between nations and the destruction of the Amazon rain forest. Let us at some stage have a really serious debate on population change. There is not a world leader with the moral courage to raise this issue, especially in the religious sphere. Recently the Pope was lecturing the Austrians for not having enough children. Every time I hear of a decline in a European country's population I get down on my knees and thank Almighty God because we do more damage to the environment than the unfortunate Chinese, Indians and all the rest.

It has already been mentioned that Ireland is the fifth most polluting country in the European Union, where "business as usual" has been raised as a phrase. Seven years ago, a Government Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, said "business as usual" was not an option for Ireland, and that is true.

I shall end on a practical point. I have passed a letter to the Minister which came into my possession via a very interesting friend in Cyprus. She is a distinguished international doctor. Her partner is a distinguished scientist and businessman and they have come up with something in which I believe the Government should take an interest. It is an ignition system that uses high-frequency technology in combination with rail injection systems. It can be applied to high pressure ignition, combustive, diesel and gasoline engines. It is a remarkable invention which does not suit all the big industrial conglomerates and therefore needs some degree of Government sponsorship and assistance.

I ask the Minister to examine the letter to see whether there is something in it that might benefit this country if he went into partnership with the people who are now developing it, namely, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. I am not suggesting the Government goes into business but rather saying if we are serious about reducing carbon emissions through the internal combustion engine, let us look at this technology. The international combines are very nervous of it because it might put some of them out of business, but it might also substantially reduce carbon emissions from motor vehicles. I remind the Minister of this because he has admitted to me that he is almost as scatty-minded as I am and he might forget. I will drop him anote and I request him to take a look at this proposal.