Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State. I am going to talk about the last point that he made about the impact that climate change is having on the most vulnerable and I will talk about our global responsibilities.

I was involved in negotiations on the programme for Government when it came to foreign affairs. Of particular importance to me was the sense that we need to ramp things up when it comes to our global responsibilities. I wish to make three points. The first relates to the overseas development aid, ODA, budget, which I will come back to. The second is climate finance and the increased commitment by the Government, and in particular the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, at the Conference of the Parties or COP26 last year. Where are we with that? Third, we must our seat on the UN Security Council for climate action reasons. I doubt whether that is what is happening and, therefore, I would like some evidence and transparency across government as to how we are using our seat.

It is important that we, in this Chamber, discuss our global responsibilities because famines can seem far removed from the everyday life experiences of all of us. I realise that we all have struggles and all of our constituents have struggles but Ireland is one the richest countries in the world in terms of what is in the budget pot. That is why I want to ensure the budget is used effectively to help the poorest people in the world.

Greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland are 54 times that of Somalia. Right now, the Horn of Africa is in crisis. Up to this point, one in five children under the age of five dies from malnutrition on this planet, which we are all here to protect wherever we live. Those of us who live in the richest part of the world, and those of us who generate high emissions, have a greater responsibility to protect those children. Trócaire and Dóchas, in particular, have suggested to us that 350,000 children are likely to die on the Horn of Africa this summer. Even to think of one child dying from malnutrition is devastating and, therefore, we cannot, as a Government, turn a blind eye as we know the reality for these people.

These statements afford us an opportunity to mention all aspects of climate change and I have decided to talk about this issue today because I want to act as a spokesperson in this Chamber for Dóchas and Trócaire, thus ensuring that their message is conveyed. Last week, I appeared on television with Ms Caoimhe de Barra and I gave a commitment then that I would present their budget submission. They seek an additional €233 million in budget 2023 to put us on the path to our ODA target. As the Minister of State will know as he was in the room with me when we negotiated, we made sure that the programme for Government contained a commitment to get us to 0.7% of gross national income, GNI, by 2030 and we are still way off our target. Even with an increased budget of €176 million in 2021 that only brings us to 0.32%. We are way off and need to do much better in budget 2023. Climate finance has doubled and the commitment of this Government is recognised by these organisations. Let us make sure that we convey the message loud and clear that this must be a reality. By 2025, we will reach €225 million per year in climate finance and, therefore, finance must be stepped up in the next budget.

The region comprising Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia is experiencing its fourth consecutive rainy season in a row and it is likely to be the worst on record. How can we deal with that? Number one is everything that the Minister of State has outlined. The reason the Green Party went into government is changes must be made in the countries that emit the most. It is important to note that 10% of the richest countries emit 52% of greenhouse gas emissions. Tackling climate change is a massive job and cannot be done just by Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. We must all tackle climate change and we, in the Green Party, take that responsibility seriously.

The other part is adaptation. We must ensure that we have the finance and assist people to move beyond where they are now. When people live in a country on the Equator and cannot rely on seasons they have no ability, no back-up and no economy that can ensure they can put food on the table. We can all now see the crisis in trying to get grain out of Ukraine, which has an impact on us. We talk about farmers and the deep impact inflicted when grain does not reach the agricultural sector and farmers here. However, such a situation has the greatest impact on the people who live in extreme poverty and suffer malnutrition, which is those in Africa. That is why we have an obligation to bring Ukrainians to this country because they must flee a war but we must also deal with the knock-on global impacts on the most vulnerable people in the world.

Finally, I thank the Minister of State for this opportunity to raise these issues.