Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after Seanad Eireann" and substitute the following:

"condemns the Government for little progress in the area of climate change policy and notes with concern the sharp rise in greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector which itself is almost entirely dependent on imported fossil fuels."

The most charitable explanation I can come up with for the Fianna Fáil motion is that somebody on the other side of the House from either the Green Party or Fianna Fáil got a rush of blood to the head, lost the run of themselves and wrote the motion without much reflection or thought. I believe Senator Jim Walsh, who is my opposite number, bears responsibility for this slightly bizarre motion which congratulates the Government on a set of aspirations. However, there is no record of achievement to match these aspirations. It is analogous to congratulating the Government on the state of the economy or to congratulating me on what I wish to achieve next year but have not yet done so.

I will proceed by outlining the inadequacy of the Government's performance to date, the potential that exists to perform and what should be done. I take the charitable view that as this is the holiday season somebody in Fianna Fáil was in a dreamy mood when writing the motion. That is the only explanation I can come up with.