Joe O'Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I take the science as a given - there are no climate deniers left - so I will simply mention a few practical issues. We should have community-based local microgeneration in order that, as was the case with the co-ops of old, small communities would have small wind turbines which serve them and which provide them with free electricity. The excess could then be supplied to the grid. We need to work on education and create a consciousness of what is happening among people. There should also be clusters of solar panels in small communities.

In agriculture, it is important that GLAS should continue. I welcome the position regarding beef genomics and the new development in the context of suckler cows. With incentivisation, there are probably areas on most farms where there could be a small bit of planting that would work. It is important that we remember that the purpose of the common agricultural policy is to ensure an adequate supply of food at an accessible price and of a particular quality. That must continue and we can do it by supporting green energy.

The IFA has put forward a interesting proposition to the effect that we should re-examine the climate metrics applied when calculating methane emissions, particularly in view of its short life in the atmosphere. I ask that Minister of State might undertake that re-examination and challenge the existing position if it is found to be wrong.