Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I got to know Emma a bit over the last few months. I add my heartfelt condolences. This is a woman, a warrior, who offered a portion of the €7.5 million of a settlement to see that tests will be done over the summer. She pleaded for university laboratories and people to work on those tests. Unfortunately, she became too ill to follow it through but such was her generosity. She will be sadly missed.

I want to talk about climate change on the back of yesterday's report. It is a landmark 400-page report from the United Nations about our planet and its unsustainability. It warns of unprecedented moves which are required by us all, in every country, to make us sustainable but time is running out. We have seen change and experienced, and will continue to experience, rising toxic oceans, deadly storms, floods and droughts. It is because of human activity on this planet but we are on track, and this is the scariest part of it, to becoming an unlivable planet. The report says that while we should try to hold to a 1.5° Celsius increase in temperature, we are on track to go to 3° to 4° Celsius higher, which would make our planet unlivable. We need to try to continuously get the message out. As a member of the Joint Committee on Climate Action, we hear about more localised efforts that can be done and the scary stories that happen in our own country. I feel regretful that a rainy day costs €2 billion when the rain falling down will become quite toxic and relentless, leading to widespread flooding. It is happening now. It is not the future and we need to remember that but we seem to be lazy and put it to one side. I am disappointed that there was no carbon tax increase in the budget. I would like the Minister, Deputy Naughten, if not the Minister for Finance, to address the decision made not to increase carbon tax, the reasons why, and what plans he has to make this planet livable.