Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

If I was the Minister with responsibility for tackling the problem of smoky chimneys, I might think this measure was discretionary and that I did not have to answer anything the Minister of State, Deputy Paudie Coffey, had requested because it is stated in the legislation that I "may" submit a report. However, a Minister with responsibility for tackling that problem should have to come - no doubt the Minister of State would wish this to happen - to explain what his or her Department was doing. We cannot allow Departments to opt out on the basis that the word "may" is included in the legislation. I hope the Minister of State's Cabinet colleagues would always comply with his request in this field, even if the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government receives many presentations. As the Minister of State said, it appears that most Ministers are responsible for environmental degradation in one form or another, but that does not let them off the hook or allow them to state that as they are not the major culprits, they should not make a presentation. The environment is important enough to require any Minister with responsibilities, whether for transport, tackling the problem of smoky chimneys or agriculture, to come to explain what is happening. This is urgent. It will take a co-ordinated effort to stop the temperature from warming up by 2 degrees Celsius by 2020.