Róisín Garvey (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I remind people of the importance of supporting local businesses and urge them to try to keep it green and local this Christmas. We are in a climate and biodiversity emergency. We have an emergency with people's jobs and livelihoods because of the pandemic. It has never been more important for all of us to make a huge effort to spend locally and support local businesses, producers, craftworkers and local musicians if they have albums. Every bit counts, helps these people to keep going and gives them hope. When people shop this Christmas I ask them to keep it as local and green as possible because it will make such a difference. The multimillionaires and big corporations will not jump for joy if someone spends €30 on a handcrafted gift but it will mean so much to the person who has gone to the effort of making it.

Plastic is a huge issue. After Christmas, we will see piles of rubbish that will have been thrown away. I ask people to think about packaging. Being green is not just a trend. It is mandatory now that we consider what we buy and bring in. Everybody is tempted to buy more toys and stuff for children, whether it is for their own kids or for nephews, nieces or godchildren. We have to move away from plastic because all of it comes from crude oil.It is fossil fuel and it is madness that we spend so much of our money on plastics so we need to consider that this Christmas. There are plenty of alternatives out there, including beautiful wooden kitchens, toys and cars. We need to look at how much plastic we bring into our homes and what will happen with it. It is going to be here forever. It is not a by-product of fossil fuels, it is directly made from oil and that is madness. Children love things that are naturally made as well. They are much more in tune with their senses than adults are. They relate to the sound, touch and smell of things so it is good to be aware of that and to try to avoid toxic paints and plastics. It is a good step for kids because it is their planet that we are trying to take care of.

We can try to be greener this Christmas and if one shops locally one is automatically being greener as well. We need to look at the distance that food and other things have to travel to get to us. If they are sought out it is easy to find growers and local food producers, including local meat and milk. There are lots of Christmas stalls and fairs happening and if we all spent an extra €10 at those it would be monumental for the SME area of our community. SMEs keep communities together so I urge everybody to try to buy local and support small businesses. It is not possible to get a mobile phone except off a mobile phone company but there are lots of other things we buy and we can put some effort into supporting some local person or business we know. I said the same thing last year but it is worth repeating so I ask everyone to consider that. Keep it green and local this Christmas.