Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I welcome the Minister back to the House, fresh from providing the Taoiseach with a dig-out from his recent trials and tribulations.

A number of people in the country probably still believe that climate change is one of these passing fads. The rest of us know the earth is not flat and that the impact of climate change is upon us. Summers are getting hotter and the past decade has seen some extremely hot summers. The summer of 2003 was reputed to be the hottest summer in 500 years during which 13,000 people died in France.

I am particularly concerned about our coasts, along which one quarter of our population lives and a major amount of infrastructure is located. With the impact of climate change we can expect to see increased sea levels and I am concerned about the coastal erosion which will be a consequence of this. I live on the Louth-Meath coast which is referred to as the "gold coast". I regularly receive phone calls from people who are concerned about the impact of the latest sea storm on the coast. I wrote to several Ministers about this and it is clear that we do not have a strategy to deal with coastal erosion or rising sea levels. Bearing in mind many of our major towns and cities, such as Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick, are either on the coast or close to the coast, it is about time the Government put in place a strategy for dealing with rising sea levels and coastal erosion. I add my voice to those of the Senators who called for greater reliance on renewable energy sources. While I do not propose to regurgitate the arguments in favour of renewable energy, I note that a recent study showed that by 2020, Ireland could produce 42% of its energy requirements by investing in these energies. We must invest in new technologies such as wave, tidal and hydroelectric energies and generate the maximum possible proportion of electricity needs through renewable sources. With investment, Ireland could become a flagship for Europe in this area.

It is in the national interest that we wake up to the impact of climate change on energy and food security. Many Senators will recall the fuel shortages caused by the oil crises in the early 1970s as queues of motorists lined up outside filling stations to obtain petrol. I refer those who do not remember those times to the electricity cuts being imposed in South Africa as a result of the failure of the authorities to act when economists predicted a decade ago that economic and population growth would necessitate the construction of new power stations. As a result, the country is experiencing energy shortages which are impacting on the economy and the health of the nation.

We must be clear about the link between energy and food security. Much of our food production relies on fossil fuels. Whether through tractors harvesting crops or in terms of the electricity required in the production and delivery stages, energy security is vital for food production. If Senators cast their minds back to the early 1990s, they will recall the impact on Cuba of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, one of the country's main suppliers of fuel. Overnight, the USSR switched off its energy supplies to the island with disastrous consequences for the economy, including food production. Without the spirit of solidarity and community in Cuba, the consequences could have been much worse. Within a few years of the Soviet decision, 1 million small family allotments in the Havana region and many parts of school playgrounds were being used for the production of vegetables. As a result the Cuban people overcame the problem and, thankfully, tremendous hardship did not ensue.

What would we do if energy insecurity impacted on our food production? Senators may have heard the president of the Irish Farmers Association, Padraig Walshe, state on "Morning Ireland" today that food security is a growing issue. Given that we have reached peak oil production, it is vital that the Government implements a strategy for dealing with energy and food security.

Climate change clearly is upon us and, where possible, the Government must take immediate steps to mitigate its impact. It must implement a strategy for the protection of our coast, focus on renewable energy supplies and design a strategy to ensure the security of our energy and food supplies.