Dominic Hannigan (Labour)

I thank the Cathaoirleach for that clarification. We are close to the tipping point and we will not use climate change as a political football. We need fresh thinking across a range of ideas, including nuclear power. There are people in all parties who would welcome an open debate on this subject. We need urgency in our consideration of all options.

We have no oil or coal of our own, but we generate only 3% of our energy from renewable resources. We are fourth from the bottom of the EU renewable energy league and we lag behind other EU countries in investment in green research and development. We must move quickly.

Last October, a climate change Bill was before the House, which agreed that the legislation should progress. A year has passed, but we have seen nothing further. The Bill seems to be stalled on Committee Stage or somewhere. It should return to the House and be passed into law.

Our level of commitment is not satisfactory. There must be action. As outlined in the report, it is vital to communicate these issues to the wider public. I suggest that a national awareness campaign be undertaken to highlight the dangers of inaction and how it would affect everyone's life.