Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today is the day the Government will announce the climate action plan. It is often said that an ounce of action is worth a ton of talk. Today we must all recognise the time for talking is over. Today is a day we must all take action. Climate change is real. It is dangerous and it is taking place at an unprecedented rate. This is indisputable. It is a fact that none of us can escape or deny and we must all accept it. If we want the best for our children and for their friends and future generations, we must all take action. We all want our children and their friends and future generations to live healthier, smarter and more sustainable lives than us. We must take action to enable them to do this.

Around the world, governments have wasted far too much time. This is why I say that today the talking must stop. We must take action. We as legislators must not just endorse the Government's action plan - we have to own it. We have to champion it and make it real for people. We have to make it real for home owners and enable them to retrofit their homes. We have to make it real for public servants. We have to ensure that all legislation and public policy and every publicly funded programme is climate proofed. We need to support everybody involved in the transportation industry, including bus drivers, taxi drivers and delivery people. We must help them to adapt to sustainable transport modes. We must help our farmers to grow and protect our environment.

I know the Leader knows this and the Government knows this. We have an opportunity to leave a legacy for future generations that will give them real hope for a healthier, cleaner and greener environment within which they can live and where there will be more opportunities for everyone. It is not just down to us in government. It is also down to those in opposition to stop the cynical negative prevarication and do the right thing. Supporting the climate action plan is not just the environmentally right thing, the economically right thing or socially right thing - it is the morally right thing to do not for us but for future generations. I want to use my time today to call on the Opposition and every elected member not just in this Chamber but in every chamber throughout the country to get behind the Government's climate action plan today and make it real and deliver on the promise and hope of a cleaner greener world for us all.