Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

Up around Donegal they say that if one's mode of transport has a nice cover, one has some chance of getting to and from one's destination dry. Donegal is not the worst county for precipitation.

I was quite interested to hear the Minister say people now accept global warming is an issue and that there is no debate about it. However, I have heard that certain governments are theorising that the concept of global warming is being advocated so their countries will be prevented from developing. I am not an expert on the matter but see enough to realise global warming is occurring and that it can only be ignored at our peril. This has been brought home to me recently.

The issue of global warming looms over every aspect of my political life at present. While I was a Deputy, I was involved with a sub-committee of British-Irish Interparliamentary Body that took on the issues of energy generation and sustainable development. The committee visited a farm owned by Mr. Gilliland on the outskirts of Derry, which farm I pass three times a week if not more frequently. He has been growing willow for a considerable period and his farm is one of the main sources of the product. The willow is fertilised with human effluent, which can either be injected into the soil or used in compost form. The willow absorbs it and emits much friendlier gases into the atmosphere than would otherwise be emitted. Within two to four years of being planted, the willow is harvested and converted into wood shavings or pellets and therefore its cultivation presents a win-win situation.

In my area, dealing with sewage presents a considerable problem. It is similar to the issue that arises in respect of chicken waste in Cavan. People can complain that Big Brother Europe will very soon rap us on the knuckles if we do not deal with such issues. I do not agree with being told what to do but believe that, where it is proper and when we should have acted faster, the European Union is correct to force us to be called to account. Willow does not present the solution for processing all human waste but is an alternative to some of the more expensive options being used to deal with relatively small amounts of waste.

The British-Irish Interparliamentary Body also visited wind farms just outside Donegal town. Turbines are fascinating to see from afar but they are much more fascinating when studied closely. This allows one to appreciate their scale and understand a little about how they generate energy.

The British-Irish Interparliamentary Body is only one body with which I have been involved with a view to addressing environmental matters. This day last week I was at the plenary session of the Council of Europe which was addressing a sub-committee on sustainable development report on global warming and ecological disasters. I joined the sub-committee in December. The report was one of two discussed during the plenary session. The second concerned the destruction of the polar regions. Most of us who do not have first-hand expertise in environmental issues gain a more thorough understanding when we see polar bears unable to climb up on the icecap because it is melting as quickly as they try to do so.

The sub-committee's report on global warming and ecological disasters is available on the Council of Europe's website. It offers far more information than I have time to extrapolate. As a member of the sub-committee, I took part in a fascinating meeting in Paris where we had discussions with a delegation from China. It is easier to point the finger at China for the problems it is causing and will cause in the future than to accept that, despite these difficulties, that country is making significant effort in some areas. One of the Chinese delegates told us that some 500 billion hectares of forest have been planted in China. Five members from five different countries asked the delegate's interpreter to confirm that figure. The French member observed that the area forested represented a multiple of the size of France.

It was startling to see that figure again in the report we produced. Our recommendation No. 18 noted that the loss of natural forest around the world represents a threat to biodiversity and does more to increase the greenhouse effect each year than the transport sector. I do not wish to contradict the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who observed that the transport sector is the greatest threat in terms of global warming. However, I ask Members to note that the loss of natural forestry, according to our report, does more to increase the greenhouse effect on a yearly basis.

There was a time when much of this State was forested. Significant deforestation has occurred, however, to make way, in many cases, for housing development. I acknowledge the work done by the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Wallace, to encourage forestry. Some people are happy to be surrounded by trees while others feel inhibited by that. It is important that we encourage the development of forestry in the context of climate change.

It is important to bear in mind that we, as more developed nations, are often satisfied to wave the finger at developing states and put all the emphasis on what they must do, at the expense of accepting that we too have a vital role to play in arresting climate change. We are often blind to our own faults as we concentrate vigorously on the shortcomings of others. It is undoubtedly the case that various large developing countries face great challenges. However, the already developed nations were central to creating the problems we all now face. We must not abdicate our responsibility to ensure the resolution or minimisation of damage into the future.

Debate about climate change is beginning to take place among ordinary citizens. Where two or three are gathered, the issue tends to arise at a level not seen before. If we are blunt about it, those who professed concerns about the environment were very much a small minority at one point. One need go back less than a decade to recall that people interested in the environment were categorised in a certain way. Such categorisation is no longer relevant because the level of debate and interest has increased so much.

It is interesting to observe the evolving debate on the potentially negative effects of bio-fuels, with the suggestion that not all corn ethanol or rapeseed biodiesel is necessarily produced in an environmentally friendly manner. It seemed at one point that the future of farming would involve a diversification into everything bio. This appeared to offer a great solution for anybody struggling in agriculture. Unfortunately, no sooner does the solution emerge than the problems associated with that solution arise.

It is important that we protect our food supply. Nobody should become involved in the production of something merely because it is trendy or attracts significant supports. We must avoid a situation where there is a rush to the energy sector at the complete expense of the food industry. In that context, I welcome the EU ban on Brazilian beef. Apart form other considerations, one wonders what its carbon footprint, or hoofprint, is by the time it gets to Ireland.

The latest craze in adventure sports is quad biking. A more environmentally friendly alternative may be available via our rivers and coasts. The EU's quotas have made it less attractive for people to make their living on the water. In my local community school, students in transition year are encouraged to take up a module on the marine. The school management is aware that the children of former fishermen are unlikely to make their living on the sea and that their parents' maritime skills may therefore be lost. A community endeavour to establish a rowing club means that the local boat-building plant, McDonald's, has begun to produce rowing boats. The River Foyle punts are back in the water. "Nationwide" and "Seascapes" both broadcast reports on this recently.

Quad biking is about the thrill of fast driving. There is as much fun, albeit involving far more water, to be had with rowing and canoeing. Water sports should be encouraged as an environmentally friendly sporting endeavour. They have been neglected thus far because of confusion as to the respective remits of the Department of Transport and the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism, with each contending they are a matter for the other Department. The development of marine recreation has fallen between the two stools and this must be addressed.

Ireland led the way in introducing the plastic bag levy. At the plenary session of the Council of Europe last week, delegates from many countries asked us how we managed to introduce the plastic bag tax, the smoking ban and now the stipulations regarding long-life light bulbs. These are regarded as great initiatives in other jurisdictions. That it was little Ireland which showed the way is significant from their perspective. The levy consumers must pay to ensure washing machines, radios, televisions and so on are recycled by the shop is also important. We should share our experience with others just as we look to other jurisdictions to see how matters operate there.

I am disappointed at the apparent lapse of the scheme operated by some garages whereby older cars were scrapped and their owners given a cash payment. That scheme should be reintroduced. A great conversation point is the new environmental provision regarding vehicle taxation. Many of those in the Visitors Gallery today may not yet have a car but they will be interested to know that, from now on, consumers will have to be far more environmentally aware when purchasing motor vehicles. Likewise, the energy rating for houses will ensure that developers must be careful to build houses that are more environmentally friendly.

We must examine the potential for the development of wind, wave and solar power. Attempts are currently being made to lay a gas pipeline from Russia into Europe. However, some of the countries involved in burying chemical weapons after the Second World War will not reveal the locations of those weapons. Therefore, laying a gas pipeline may threaten the stability of several countries. If we believe that natural gas is a better option than other fuels, then we should be imploring Britain, America and Germany to come clean on where those munitions are buried.

We must make new public buildings eco-friendly. We must use as many environmentally friendly options as we can, because we are supposed to be leading the way. We cannot point our finger at other countries, because we must look at ourselves. As parliamentarians, we cannot look to other people and tell them what to do. We must act. Minister Timmerman said last week that what we say at the Council of Europe, we must say in our own countries. To paraphrase an American saying, "Do not ask what your world can do for you, but what you can do for your world".