Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Over time, a cultural change took place and people bought into the decision that people could not smoke in workplaces. We took leadership in the world, and the same is required again. Here in Ireland, we are so full of ourselves that we think we are some big nation. In other people's eyes we are just a little island with 4.5 million people. However, we must take responsibility for initiatives and actions on climate change for the benefit of everybody in the world. While the White Paper the Government produced yesterday is grand on the vision, the action is not spelled out. We need a six-point action plan on keeping fossil fuels in the ground by 2050. Last night, I was at a meeting in Trinity College. Every person there had bought into the concept and wanted Irish citizens to take the lead. People in the public audience were very critical of politicians and the Government's ambiguity about climate change. We will discuss it another time.