Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In terms of actions in this area that this and the previous Government have taken, they are numerous, and I would cite the introduction of the green, low-carbon, agri-environment scheme, GLAS, and the beef data and genomics programme, which are critical in protecting groundwater sources etc. We have much more to do. I am focusing in on the argifood side and I acknowledge the point made by Senator O'Sullivan on the marine area. Is there anybody more exposed to climate change in terms of rising sea levels than coastal communities? We need to factor all these into the debate and, hopefully, we will be in a position to publish our consultation on the marine side perhaps before the end of March and then we will invite other submissions. We acknowledge that we must bring people along with us. The approach is not to take a stick and beat people in other areas to take action.