Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I pay tribute to the members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action and thank them for the huge amount of work that they done over the last nine months. I also acknowledge the work of my party colleague, the current Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, who chaired the committee during the term of the previous Government.

The passing of the Bill is a great day for the Minister and his party colleagues who put this Bill and its targets at the centre of going into government. This is, without doubt, one of the most transformative Bills to go through the Houses of the Oireachtas for a long number of years.

I pay tribute to Pauline O'Reilly for the work that she has done on this Bill and for saying the following last Monday: "The actions we can take for climate change are the actions that will make all our lives better". That is what this Bill is about. It is about improving the lives of our children and, indeed, future generations. It is our collective responsibility to deliver this plan and ensure that we meet our targets. There will be many challenges over the years so it is important that we inform society about the changes needed and do whatever is necessary to bring society with us. I concur with the comments made by Senator Seery Kearney and think that we need a communications campaign across society to make sure that everyone fully understands the concept of climate change.

The agricultural sector is the backbone of the rural economy. It is our largest indigenous industry. It generates 173,000 nationally and accounts for 10% of Irish exports yet the sector is very poorly represented on the Climate Change Advisory Council.We are a world leader in food production and that must be protected. The sector understands climate change better than most. Farmers see it every day with flooding and other climate changes so it is important to identify long-term solutions that do not reduce the capacity of those who live and work in rural Ireland but allow them to earn a decent living. Livelihoods are at stake in farming and the wider economy. I met recently with the local farming organisations in my own county of Longford. They asked me to point out a number of asks. Carbon sequestered by farmers is not recognised in Government budgets. Carbon leakage is another issue. Less food produced in Ireland results in these markets being filled from countries with higher carbon footprints. If we cut back on our production of food, particularly milk or meat, and the shortfall is filled by some other country with higher emissions, there is no gain. Biogenic methane needs to be treated differently in setting carbon budgets as per the programme for Government and the Bill but this remains unclear.

Longford has been seriously affected by the closures of operations at Mountdillon and Lough Ree power station in Lanesborough. I welcome the supports heretofore and the need for a just transition for the midlands. We need to see these supports at first-hand on the ground. In particular, I thank the Minister for the announcement of the €1.4 million to further develop cycling and walking throughout the boglands of south Longford. The Government might need to get a plumber as it was leaked by a Deputy in Longford a number of weeks ago before it was sanctioned by the Department. The Deputy tried to claim credit, although he was not involved in it nor does he have much to do with it.