Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It gives me great pleasure to support Senator Barrett's points. I will be hosting a public meeting on climate change - under the title "Climate Change Crunch Time" - next week in the Goat Bar & Grill in Dundrum. The implications of climate change and the warming of the atmosphere, in addition to the potential trouble we are walking into, are only beginning to dawn on people. We are about to face what is possibly the biggest calamity this planet has faced. I agree with Senator Barrett that there should be more consultation and political connection. In fact, work should be done by local authority areas, or local electoral areas, to get the councillors and people involved to discuss the issue and drive home the agenda. I am very privileged to be associated with Professor John Sweeney, who is one of the foremost authorities on climate change in Ireland. He has been a professor in NUI Maynooth for 30 years and was rapporteur for the Oireachtas committee in the review of the heads of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill. More importantly, he contributed to the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007. I agree with Senator Barrett's view that everyone in the country has to be involved on this issue because of its social and economic implications for everyone.