Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I need to speak doubly quick now or I will run out of time. Our economic system is having detrimental impacts on our planet. While the current crisis in Ukraine is first and foremost a humanitarian crisis and we cannot and must not lose sight of that reality, it highlights nonetheless just how quickly difficulties can arise when our needs are dependent on imports. The past few months, indeed days, have highlighted our reliance on imported energy, food, fertiliser and animal feed. This has brought into sharp focus how quickly a major supply chain breakdown, such as is happening now, can expose so many of our families and farmers to spiralling costs.

The Government is working with all sectors to try to address these serious issues. As we do so, it is important that we also think about the future. One solution is to implement system change by working with nature, within its ecological boundaries, to produce high-quality food in a profitable way. I agree that is easier said than done, but we must not use this catastrophic situation in Ukraine to discontinue action on climate and biodiversity. That would put even greater strain on our long-term future and that of our already stressed environment.

Planning for short supply chains and circularity must be part of our solution as this will help to prevent future crises in sectors such as agriculture being compounded by events outside of our control. Our very presence on this planet impacts the natural world as we draw on its resources to survive. Every home we build, every field we plough and every tree will plant will have an impact. While we may not be able to mitigate all the impacts, we need to ensure minimal impact and to balance inequalities across our planet, not just societal and economic, but environmental too. As we assist those affected by the devastation in Ukraine, we should do so with an eye to the future. An eye on how change is brought about as a result of this horrific crisis can help make food production here more resilient.