Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. He is maturing with age and he is prepared to listen, hear, understand and hopefully, implement. Fianna Fáil fully recognises the climate crisis is the defining global challenge of our time and we are committed to ensuring Ireland does its collective fair share and meets legally binding commitments at European Union and United Nations levels. It is only right that this House has the opportunity to address all aspects of this Government's climate response, or to be more accurate, the opportunity to address the Government's knowing indecision and to delay anything approaching a co-ordinated and satisfactory climate response.

Ireland's climate laggard status relates back to the 2012 Fine Gael decision to abandon climate action legislation proposed by the Green Party and Fianna Fáil and the subsequent knowing failure to introduce any sort of coherent climate plan until this year. The new climate plan may result in some concrete action, following the Trojan work of the Citizens' Assembly and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action. The Oireachtas committee was absolutely clear that both Houses of the Oireachtas have an important role to play in terms of instilling discipline and ending years of Government inaction.

However, there are notable gaps between committee recommendations and Government commitments in its climate plan. I want to address four issues if I have the opportunity and it would be helpful if the Minister could respond to each issue in due course or at least consider them. First are the Taoiseach's comments. Last week, the Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and Ministers were throwing around pumpkins at a press launch of their quarterly report on actions implemented by Departments. I will not be calling it a progress report as it is far from clear emissions are being reduced. In contrast with the serious and respectful approach of the Oireachtas joint committee, it was shocking that the Government continues to treat the climate emergency in such a trivial way. In terms of this published quarterly report, Departments are to be commended on transparently reporting on their commitments, as well as for their work on adaptation plans but how does such a ridiculous photo opportunity appear to the peat workers who stand the loss of the only jobs they have ever known, to the farmer whose potato crop has been destroyed by the extreme rainfall of recent weeks, or to those with respiratory problems made worse by air pollution? There are those in government who wonder why we have children striking about these matters. To top it all, the Taoiseach made the incredible assertion that climate change will have benefits, essentially as there will be a warmer winter. His comments beggar belief when we have the EPA and the HSE confirming a clear link between poor quality air in Dublin and rises in hospital admissions. How can we be sure this Government will protect citizens from climate impacts when the Taoiseach seems to think the climate emergency is a bed of roses? It beggars belief and I ask the Minister to reject the Taoiseach's insensitive and ridiculous statement now in this House. It seems the Taoiseach has not read the advice published by climate experts, such as the advice on the likelihood of devastating flooding in our coastal towns and cities, as reported in The Irish Timesyesterday. Can the Minister clarify if the Cabinet has ever sat down with the Environmental Protection Agency, which regularly produces detailed reports on climate risks? I mention the dangers of climate change with the flooding of towns and the raising of the sea levels. It is extraordinary. I do not know what the Minister thinks or what happened the Taoiseach on the day or what he was taking but it was certainly quite-----