Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I again thank the Minister for his attendance. It is testament to how seriously he takes this matter. I would like to comment favourably on some of the Minister's comments. The Minister said that he welcomes this motion, that he is positively disposed to it and personally committed. Credit where credit is due, he has also put a timeframe on matters and said that he is happy and willing to return to the Upper House. On behalf of the many Senators involved in this cross-party initiative, I thank the Minister. It is about as much progress as we have ever made in a tangible way.It is not over until it is over. Given that it has been such a long wait, we are not going to get carried away tonight but significant progress has been made. Indeed, we have seen the most progress to date from an Irish Government and we have heard it directly from the Minister for Foreign Affairs. I thank him for his very proactive response and his ongoing consultation and assessment. He seems to be going very much in the right direction and I thank him for that. I also want to thank, once again, the Shackleton Museum. I hope I have put the names of all of its members on the record, including Mr. Frank Taaffe, the brilliant chairperson who has published more than 1,000 articles in the local journal. I am also grateful for the cross-party support and the goodwill from all sides of the House. That was epitomised today by the contributions of Senators from the neighbouring Kildare South constituency, Senators Wall and O'Loughlin. While we are national parliamentarians, we all stood together and that is the way forward. This is a community initiative, best epitomised by the Shackleton Museum's voluntary committee. My two friends from south of the border in Kildare South are certainly not letting the side down. They are so dedicated to this and I hope we will have a breakthrough in the not too distant future. That would be so appropriate on the centenary of the death of Ernest Shackleton next year.

This is a leading example of a global, science-driven approach to a global issue. We could have done with more of that in our response to the pandemic and ongoing climate change challenges. If we could replicate some of the co-operation in the Antartic Treaty, it would be great. Comments were made about the science. The science visitors, projects and personnel are declared in advance, all results are shared and unannounced inspections are permitted. The future is global and we have seen that tonight. This House has a tradition of being less adversarial and less partisan than other assemblies and chambers around the world and I have seen that tradition in action tonight. We also saw an avoidance of parochialism. We have explorers from all over Ireland, the most famous of them being the colossus, Shackleton but Ireland is conspicuous by its absence from the table. That said, the future is bright.

I will conclude by quoting my friend and colleague, Grace O’Sullivan, MEP, whom other Senators, including Senators Higgins and Boyhan, generously mentioned:

I first set foot on Antarctic ice in 1986 as an activist with Greenpeace where we campaigned for the protection of Antarctica, one of the last true wildernesses on earth, as a natural reserve devoted to peace and science. As an MEP, I have been able to continue that activism and support EU efforts to protect the delicate biodiversity of the Antarctic which plays such an important role in climate regulation.

This is our time and the Minister for Foreign Affairs will lead on it. I have full faith that he will get this over the line, following his expression of clear intent this evening. I look forward to returning to this Chamber when Ireland, not just Kildare, can celebrate taking its rightful place at the table from which it is conspicuously absent at the moment.