Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 25 Mar 2015

Vol. 872 No. 2

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed)

Question again proposed: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Deputy Dan Neville

I welcome the opportunity to speak about this Bill. The Government promised in its programme for Government to publish legislation on climate change with a view to its enactment before the end of the life of the Dáil. This Bill partly fulfils that commitment.

Climate change is the greatest challenge facing humanity. It threatens the environment and economic development and the quality of life we enjoy. This generation will be remembered by how it responded to this challenge.

Climate change is real. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, published an assessment report in 2013 which left no doubt about the precise nature of this challenge. It concluded that the evidence of climate change was unequivocal. It also shows how man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are driving climate change. Failure to take the necessary action on climate change will have potentially catastrophic effects in many areas of the globe. Climate change will also have spill-over impacts in all regions and countries which will grow as its impact increases. We will have to adapt our lives to mange our responses to these changes and reduce greenhouse gas emissions to ensure future generations can retain the capacity to manage future climatic conditions.

When discussing climate change, it is important to provide a definition of climate. Although weather and climate appear closely related, they are in fact two different concepts. Weather describes the meteorological conditions at a given time and place. Climate, however, describes the meteorological conditions, including temperature, rain and wind, that characteristically prevail in a particular region over a period, with the typical unit of time taken being 30 years. It is possible, by collecting weather information all around the country every hour and by analysing these records over the aforementioned 30-year period, to assess how the climate is behaving and changing. Currently, Ireland's climate tends to be warm in the summer, at approximately 16° Celsius and cool in the winter at approximately 5° Celsius. Natural climate variability also is picked up by these measurements. For instance, March 2012 was one of the warmest for 50 years, while March 2013 was the coldest on record. This does not mean necessarily that the climate is changing but an increase in extremes such as these is a good indicator that it might be.

One can forecast the likely weather by monitoring the climate and this is important for many reasons. For example, in agriculture, one needs to know when one should sow crops and so on, while planners and engineers need to have climate data in order that they can design roads, buildings and bridges in anticipation of the climate conditions. Climate change is a significant change in the climate a region experiences. It can be caused by natural factors such as variations in solar intensity or volcanic eruptions. However, the term "climate change" is now generally associated with changes in the climate due to the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as a result of human activities. Greenhouse gas build-up is caused by excess emissions from activities such as burning fossil fuels for energy, transport, heating and cement manufacture, as well as methane emissions. Greenhouse gases let sunlight pass through the atmosphere to reach the earth but then trap the outgoing energy from the heated surface of the earth like a blanket. This causes a warming of the global atmosphere generally although it is hard to anticipate exactly how this will affect climates at more regional scales.

According to the latest assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, warming of the climate system is unequivocal. Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and oceans have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea levels have risen and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased. In fact, each of the last three decades has been successively warmer at the Earth's surface than any preceding decade since 1850. The assessment report also considers that human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident from the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, observed warming and understanding of the climate system. Ireland's climate, even in the last 20 years or so, has seen a noticeable change in temperature. A graph from the Met Éireann report, Ireland's Climate: The Road Ahead, shows that Ireland's mean temperature has risen by 0.5° Celsius since 1990 alone, which in climate terms is a highly significant rise. One consequence thus far has been higher rainfall recorded in the west, south west and north of the country. Six of Ireland's warmest years on record have occurred since 1990. In Valentia during 2007, the warmest year since records began in 1892 was recorded. Over the past three decades, an increase in temperature of 0.42° Celsius per decade has been detected, compared with an increase of 0.23° Celsius per decade between 1910 and 1949. If climate change continues at this pace, increased global temperatures will have a dangerous and irreversible impacts on our planet. The challenge for us all, in Ireland and elsewhere, is therefore to limit and adapt to climate change.

In its Programme for Government 2011-2016, the Government agreed to "publish a Climate Change Bill which will provide certainty surrounding government policy and provide a clear pathway for emissions reductions, in line with negotiated EU 2020 targets". In November 2013, the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht launched its report on the outline heads of a climate action and low-carbon development Bill, in which it set out a number of possible courses of action that might be considered in future deliberations on the Bill. In April 2014, the Government approved the general scheme of the climate action and low-carbon development Bill. The general scheme of the Bill was developed, following public consultation processes in 2012 by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and pre-legislative scrutiny by the joint committee. In the latter regard, the joint committee's report is stated to have been given "full consideration and a number of changes were made to reflect its findings, including reducing the interval between proposed national low-carbon roadmaps from seven to five years and enabling the national expert advisory body on climate change to publish directly its annual and periodic review reports".

The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015 was published by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government on 19 January 2015. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has completed a public consultation process in which it invited written submissions from interested parties on a discussion document on the potential for greenhouse gas mitigation within the agriculture and forestry sector. I welcome the Bill and welcome the opportunity to have contributed to the debate.

Deputy Derek Keating

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this important legislation and acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, in the Chamber. I commend the Minister and the Government on fulfilling their commitment to propose the implementation of specific legislation to deal with climate change. In its Programme for Government 2011-2016, the Government committed to "publish a Climate Change Bill which will provide certainty surrounding government policy and provide a clear pathway for emissions reductions, in line with negotiated EU 2020 targets". In its Statement of Government Priorities 2014-2016, the Government reaffirmed its pledge to publish legislation on climate change, with a view to enactment by the end of 2014 as follows:

Enactment of the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill by the end of the year together with a new national roadmap to help Ireland meet its EU2020 climate change targets. The Government will also ensure that any additional climate change and renewable energy targets for Ireland are fair and realistic, and take appropriate account of our particular national circumstances and economic challenges, including in respect of the agriculture sector.

The Government's national policy is clear on the need for a continuous focus through target achievement not just for today or for the lifetime of this Dáil but over decades to come and states:

The evolution of climate policy in Ireland will be an iterative process, based on the adoption by Government of a series of national plans over the period to 2050. Greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change will be addressed in parallel national plans – respectively through National Low-Carbon Roadmaps and National Climate Change Adaptation Frameworks.

The National Low-Carbon Roadmaps and the National Climate Change Adaptation Frameworks will constitute key pillars of the process through which Government will develop and progress, mitigation and adaptation policy in order to enable the State to pursue and achieve transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy in the period to 2050.

As members of the EU, we are also bound by obligations to our neighbours and partner states. I am profoundly aware of these through my work on the Select Committee on European Union Affairs. These obligations put environmental concerns front and centre in our thinking on all national, regional and local development plans.

Over the past decades, the European Union has put in place a broad range of environmental legislation. As a result, air, water and soil pollution have significantly been reduced. Chemicals legislation has been modernised and the use of many toxic or hazardous substances has been restricted. Today, EU citizens enjoy some of the best water quality in the world and over 18% of the EU's territory has been designated as protected areas for nature.

However, many challenges persist and these must be tackled together in a structured way. We are a party to the 7th Environment Action Plan which has three key objectives: first, to protect, conserve and enhance the EU's environment and animal and plant diversity; second, to turn the EU into a resource-efficient, green and competitive low-carbon economy; and third, to safeguard the EU's citizens from environment-related pressures and risks to health and well-being.

This Bill will begin Ireland's journey towards achieving these goals and make our villages, towns, cities, factories and farms more sustainable, as well as helping us to address international environmental and climate challenges more effectively. This House needs to keep a constant and vigilant oversight on all actions undertaken through the framework established by the Bill.

Deputy Peter Fitzpatrick

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015. The Bill is the result of two years' hard work, including in-depth public consultations on climate legislation. In this regard, I would like to praise the extensive consideration given by both the Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, and the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. The Bill will provide a statutory basis for the national objective of a transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050. In so doing, it will give a solid statutory foundation to the institutional arrangements necessary to enable the State to pursue and achieve that objective.

I have seen at first hand the many benefits achieved from introducing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in the community. My home town of Dundalk has been progressive in this regard and the Dundalk 2020 project is a prime example of this. Dundalk set itself ambitious targets by 2020, including 20% of all heat produced by renewable energy; 20% of all electricity used by renewable energy; and 40% energy efficiency in selected buildings. By achieving these targets it was estimated that there would be a reduction of 10,000 tonnes in carbon dioxide. By the end of 2010, Dundalk 2020 had reached almost 60% of the ambitious targets set. This scheme was established by the SEAI in partnership with Louth County Council and is a perfect example of how sustainable energy communities can exist and thrive in modern Ireland.

The area covered by the project is 4 sq. km and has approximately 2,500 residents. Some 3,500 people are working in the area and over 5,800 people are studying there. As a direct result of the scheme, savings in excess of €500,000 per year are being achieved through energy efficiency measures and over 5,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide is avoided each year. Dundalk 2020 is perfect example of how innovative technologies, policies and practices can create sustainable energy communities that are of benefit to all.

Another such project in Dundalk is the Cox's Demesne Regeneration Scheme, which is a unique public private partnership between the local authority, SEAI and Electric Ireland. The project involved more than 600 homes and included energy efficient insulation, boiler installations, draught proofing and installation of heating controls, all at no cost to the residents. It achieved impressive results with the vast majority of houses improving their building energy ratings from an E2 to a C1. Such was the success of the project that it was short-listed for the Ace Awards, which is one of Europe's most prestigious events for recognising achievements in renewable and sustainable energy.

I would like to put on record my full support for the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill and I look forward to it being enacted.

Deputy Seamus Healy

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015. It is a very important Bill and is long overdue.

Climate change is a real and distressing phenomenon which disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in our society. We only have to think of a country like the Philippines and, more recently, the Pacific island of Vanuatu, to see the utter devastation that climate change is wreaking on the most vulnerable people in the world who are already living in extreme poverty. Here at home, the Irish climate analysis and research unit has studied key meteorological changes in this country from 1890, when records began, to 2004 and the results do not bode well. The main finding was that Ireland's climate is warming and this warming is accompanied by greater rainfall events of higher intensity and frequency, and increased flooding. Many communities around Ireland are already at the forefront of this struggle with climate change, including flooding. There has been significant evidence of flooding in the country and particularly in my constituency of Tipperary South. The Old Bridge area of Clonmel, Ardfinnan, Kilsheelan, Carrick-on-Suir and Knocklofty have all seen devastation caused by flooding.

Robust, meaningful and action-oriented legislation is vitally important to protect the lives and livelihoods of those living in vulnerable areas. Currently, we have no plan for climate change in this country. This Bill is the seventh such Bill to be presented to the Dáil in the past ten years. Passing this Bill, with amendments, would mark the first time that climate legislation has been placed on the Statute Book in this country.

The legislation provides for the preparation of five-yearly national low-carbon transition and mitigation plans. These will set out how Ireland's national greenhouse gas emissions are to be reduced in line both with existing EU and international commitments. This is intended to be done in a dual manner of mitigation and adaptation.

While the introduction of any climate legislation is an encouraging step, the Bill needs to be amended and strengthened. As we know, sending draft Bills to Oireachtas committees for consideration was one of this Government's main, and much talked about, reforms in the programme for Government. My colleague, Deputy Catherine Murphy, was a member of the all-party Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, which scrutinised this Bill and made 12 recommendations. It is disappointing, however, that only three of those recommendations have been acted upon. This begs the question as to whether Oireachtas committees are taken seriously by the Government at all.

Effectively, the Bill has changed little from the draft prepared by the former Minister, Commissioner Phil Hogan. The latter's decision not to include any specific targets for emission reductions was widely criticised by environmental groups and Opposition parties.

I recently attended a briefing given by a group called Stop Climate Chaos, a coalition of some of the most eminent civil society organisations in Ireland, including Trócaire, Comhlámh, Concern and the National Youth Council of Ireland, to name but a few. Together, they constitute the largest network of organisations campaigning for action on climate change in Ireland and have described the Bill as deeply disappointing. They have identified five major weaknesses in the Bill which needs to be strengthened. I concur and ask that the amendments necessary be brought forward during the course of the Bill's progress through the Houses.

First, the Bill fails to set numeric targets for emissions reductions in the future. This is a fundamental flaw, as it means that there will be little concrete direction in the coming years. Civil society organisations are not alone in calling for clear targets; businesses also point to the need for targets to provide confidence and drive investment. Finland, Denmark and France have recently announced the introduction of climate and energy legislation, each setting clear targets in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In Finland the law sets an 80% target to be reached by 2050, while the law in Denmark sets a 40% target to be reached by 2020, double the target set in EU 2020. In France the energy transition Bill seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and by 75% by 2050.

Given the resistance of some interest groups to setting a single national target, the compromise proposed by the Oireachtas committee is to define what is meant by "low carbon", which would at least provide for some clarity on the objectives of the Bill. The former Minister, Mr. Phil Hogan, set out a definition during his appearance before the joint committee in July 2013 and the committee recommended that it be incorporated into the Bill. The Government refined the definition and formally adopted it as national policy in April 2014, but it was not included in the heads of the Bill. As a consequence, while some Departments such as the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine have been referring to it, others such as the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport have been ignoring it. Only including the definition in the Bill will ensure all Departments will give it due consideration.

The Bill also proposes the establishment of a national expert advisory council on climate change to be tasked with giving advice to the Government on climate change matters. Again, the joint committee recommended that the climate change advisory council be modelled on the Fiscal Advisory Council in that its independence should be prescribed in the Bill and that its members should be independent of State and stakeholder interests. Instead the Bill provides for a body of no more than 11 members, four of whom will represent state bodies in an ex officio capacity. It does not specify that the council must be independent in the exercise of its functions, as in the case of the Fiscal Advisory Council. While the Bill provides for the council to publish its reports, the time period is anything from 30 to 90 days, which is too long for the purposes of public debate and transparency.

The Bill does not provide for the inclusion of a reference to climate justice. Ireland has a responsibility to the poorest people in developing countries who are already feeling the impact of climate change, a crisis they played no part in creating. While the Bill is about mapping out a strong and sustainable future for Ireland, it is also about ensuring Ireland will live up to its global responsibilities. The Government has repeatedly stated its commitment to climate justice is a principle guiding its engagement with the issue of climate change. Provision for the principle of climate justice in the legislation would provide an opportunity to realise it.

As regards the timing, Ireland's last five-year action plan on climate change expired at the end of 2012, just as our EU 2020 targets came into force. The heads of the Bill, published in April 2014, envisaged that the first national mitigation plan would be adopted within 12 months of enactment of the legislation. The Bill provides for a period of up to 24 months for the adoption of the mitigation plan. That means that Ireland's plan for reducing emissions in the period 2013 to 2020 will not be adopted until 2017, which is patently absurd. Given the fact that the preparation of the national mitigation plan has been progressing in parallel to the development of the legislation, which is long overdue, we recommend that the period allowed be six months and that the plan be finalised and adopted before the UN climate summit in Paris in December 2015. The previous five-year action plan, the national climate change strategy, covered the Kyoto Protocol commitment period, 2008 to 2012, and made it clear that the measures contained in it were designed to meet Ireland's Kyoto Protocol commitment to limit total emissions in the period covered to 314 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. All future five-year action plans should equally indicate total projected national emissions in the period covered under the plan. Given the significant potential already recognised for mitigation by the management of carbon in Irish soils, particularly in wetlands, the Bill should include soil carbon management in the matters to be taken into account in the national mitigation plan.

One of the purposes of the Bill is to provide a platform for the achievement of as much cross-party and independent support for action as possible, given the scale of the transformation needed in coming decades to contain the effects of climate change. While I welcome the Bill, I strongly urge the Government to amend it during the course of its passage through the Oireachtas, particularly to deal with the points I have mentioned. This would strengthen it and our commitment to climate justice.

Deputy Tony McLoughlin

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak to the long awaited Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill which will, among other things, provide a statutory basis for the transition of the Republic of Ireland to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by 2050. If enacted by the Oireachtas, it will be the first item of climate change legislation to be enacted in the history of the State, which, of course, will be a key milestone, one which I believe must be acknowledged by all sides of the House as a positive first step in Ireland's efforts to combat climate change. It must also be noted that, if the legislation is passed, Ireland will be one of only a few EU member states to have dedicated climate change legislation and as such will exhibit the country as being a European leader in dealing with the issue. This targeted change, a national objective of the Government, will have the highest regard for existing international agreements such as the United Nations framework on climate change and our current obligations under EU Law. For example, it will formally oblige the State to adhere to both EU and international climate change targets such as a 20% reduction in emissions by 2020 over 1995 levels. I warmly welcome this aspect of the Bill.

Although this is a new Bill on the topic, this is not the first time climate change and the damaging effects it has on our natural environment have been discussed in the House. I have the privilege to sit on the environment committee and have listened to many submissions by local organisations, companies and members of the public on the damaging effects climate change is having in their daily lives. Those living along the western seaboard are particularly at risk from the changing weather conditions. It is a very worrying topic for my constituents in counties Sligo and Leitrim. I fear that the natural environment we will eventually pass onto our grandchildren will be irreversibly damaged, unless real measures such as those included in the Bill are enacted and adhered to on a global scale. However, I am pleased that the Bill provides our first opportunity as Irish legislators to make attempts to combat the problem in our own country which has been spiralling out of control in recent times. We are setting a strong international example and I firmly believe the Bill will continually be developed and expanded in the coming years.

The overall transition associated with the Irish approach to climate change will be achieved by the introduction of two statutory plans, namely, a national mitigation plan and a national adaption framework. The plan will guide policy on greenhouse gas emission reduction and climate change adaption.

The other major feature of the Bill is the establishment of an expert advisory council called the National Expert Advisory Council on Climate Change. This new body will consist of between nine and 11 members whose aim will be to advise and to make expert recommendations to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government. Its chair will be independent but it will include the top officials from the Environmental Protection Agency, Teagasc, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and the Economic and Social Research Institute. The introduction of this new body is a vital aspect of the Bill as it will bring all the key stakeholders on the topic together under one umbrella, with the one key goal of advising the Government on the issue of climate change.

While this proposed climate change legislation is largely welcome on many fronts, there are, however, some concerns over certain aspects of the Bill, and there are many who believe it does not go far enough in combating the issue. A number of my concerned constituents have contacted me about the Bill recently to state their fears. Some believe the powers of the National Expert Advisory Council warrant further investigation. It has been said that the body could be ignored by the Government or not listened to, and that the reports it produces may not be taken into account.

Another issue raised with me concerns why there have been no long-term mitigation targets set out in the Bill. While I understand our commitments up to 2020 and that negotiations are in place for the period up to 2030, I believe that longer-term targets would have been beneficial and should be considered. That there has been no definition of what “low carbon” actually means within the context of the Bill is unfortunate. This can and should be changed in the next stage of this Bill’s passage through the Oireachtas.

I am fully supportive of this proposed legislation as it clarifies that Ireland is now fully committed to playing its part in tackling international climate change. We, as legislators, need to stand up for and play our part in protecting our climate and our environment for future generations. It has taken a great deal of time and effort to get the Bill onto the floor of the House. I commend former Minister Phil Hogan and the current Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, and their departmental officials on the work they have done on the Bill. I would appreciate it if the Minister provided the House with further clarity on some of the concerns I have sought to raise here during this debate.

Deputy Anne Ferris

There is a very well-known and very old saying, attributed to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, that one swallow will never make a summer. That proverb has relevance to this climate change debate, in more ways than one. The behaviour of migratory birds is studied a lot by climate change experts. When birds travel thousands of miles, weather patterns influence their behaviour. Birdwatch Ireland tells us that the Irish swallow is arriving here in increasingly fewer numbers. Global warming has caused the Sahara desert to become bigger and wider. Many of the swallows die on the journey home to nest because they cannot make the longer crossing without water. The swallows that get here have to deal with the wetter Irish summers, also caused by climate change. This, the bird experts tell us, results in fewer insects for feeding the chicks and a lower survival rate all around. It is not just affecting the swallows. The famous Atlantic salmon of Irish folklore also faces extinction due to rising sea temperatures. Fewer and fewer are making the journey home to Irish rivers to spawn.

As a nation, we do not just have international obligations regarding climate change as we also have local obligations. The next generation of Irish children is as entitled as the previous one to have salmon in its rivers and to mark the beginning of spring with the return of the swallows. Climate change regulation is one of the most important duties we have in this Oireachtas. Contributing productively and sensibly to correcting climate change is at least as important, if not more important, to future generations than the work the Government is doing to correct the economy. However, this is where there is another context for using the expression, “One swallow does not a summer make”. One piece of climate change legislation does not a problem solve. While I welcome the fact that this legislation has an interdepartmental focus, I am seriously concerned about the lack of joined-up thinking so far on the topic of climate change. Across Government, different Departments are working separately, like busy, endangered bees, on reports and strategies that affect climate but nobody seems to be focusing on putting the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together.

Achieving renewable energy targets is an essential aspect of meeting emissions targets. When oil, peat and coal are burned to make energy, it releases the emissions that lead to climate change. Therefore, it is fairly straightforward to conclude that reducing emissions will require the world to use less energy, and for the energy that is used to be from cleaner renewable sources, such as solar or wave power or wind turbines. It makes sense that Ireland should contribute to this global effort through adopting strategies to waste less energy and to build our fair share of renewable energy technologies.

Given the need for a global effort, I was shocked in recent weeks to discover through parliamentary questions that nobody in any Government agency or Department is measuring the amount of renewable energy that has been generated thus far on foot of the granting of planning permission. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government counts no planning permissions, although one might expect it to have a vested interest in understanding how close the country is to achieving a fair share of global emission targets. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources does not count the planning permissions, even though it has the job of preparing energy strategies. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has no accurate count either. One might ask why this should matter. Can we not continue building wind farms across the country and up to our shorelines until there is no more space for a swallow to fly between the turbines? One might ask whether it is not all good for climate change. There are many reasons this attitude is wrong. There has to be public support for climate change initiatives to work. The public has to understand what the targets are, why they are needed and how Ireland's efforts fit into the global context. First, there must be targets and, second, the targets have to be accepted by the citizens as valid.

There has to be flexibility in how the country achieves overall emissions targets. At present, people are not being offered energy conservation and reduction targets as an alternative way of reducing emissions. Electric vehicles have a role to play in reducing emissions but this is not being considered to the appropriate extent.

At present, it seems as if the only plan under active consideration is for wind turbines and for Ireland to build enough of them to help meet the emission targets of the United Kingdom and France. This type of blinkered strategy is not going to lead to the level of community buy-in necessary to achieve meaningful adjustments in climate-changing emissions. That is why I would have liked to have seen more independence in the formulation of the new expert advisory council.

The State agencies have so far displayed over-dependence on a wind energy strategy that is not being properly measured and has a falling level of public support. What is needed more than anything is a fresh approach, and fresh ideas that involve local communities in climate action. I urge the Ministers to bring as many independent voices as possible to the table. It takes the voices of more than one swallow to make a summer.

Deputy Michael McCarthy

By making informed choices now, we can reduce risks for future generations and ourselves, and help communities adapt to climate change. However, just paying lip service to the problem is not going to make it go away. That is why the Government has committed to legislating in this critical area.

Legislation is the best way to make sure that all Departments across Government and all Departments across time take climate change seriously and take action consistently. We have to hard-wire action and accountability on climate change into our political thinking and system. In response, the programme for Government committed to publishing a climate change Bill to "provide certainty surrounding government policy and provide a clear pathway for emissions reductions, in line with negotiated EU 2020 targets".

This is the first time that a coherent and legislative response has been developed to combat the threat of climate change. The Bill will be one of the most important to have passed through the Dáil and the Seanad for years. It represents the culmination of lengthy and wide-ranging consultations on climate legislation over the past couple of years, including extensive consideration by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht.

I chair that committee.

The principal function of the Bill is to provide for the approval of plans by the Government for the purpose of pursuing the transition to a low carbon, climate resilient and environmentally sustainable economy by the year 2050. In particular, the Bill provides for the approval, every five years, of successive national low carbon transition and mitigation plans. These plans will specify the policy measures required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, having regard to our EU and international mitigation obligations. The Bill also provides for the approval of successive national climate change adaptation frameworks, which will specify the national strategy for the application of adaptation measures in different sectors and by local authorities to reduce the State's vulnerability to the negative effects of climate change.

The Bill provides for the establishment of a national expert advisory council on climate change to provide advice and recommendations to relevant Ministers and the Government on the making and approval of these plans. Moreover, the Bill provides that relevant Ministers will make a statement to Dáil Éireann annually providing updates on progress in respect of the implementation of approved greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation policy measures. The impetus for and importance of the Bill stem, in part, from our current greenhouse gas mitigation targets under EU legislation up to the year 2020 and likely future mitigation targets up to the year 2030 and beyond. Although the Bill is not a panacea for the very challenging targets that we face, it should assist us in narrowing the distance to reaching the set target by 2020 and stand us in good stead thereafter.

In addition, although the Bill does not contain any numerical mitigation targets, it will function to statutorily underpin the national climate change policy position agreed by the Government last April. This position sets out a quantitative vision of low carbon transition by the year 2050. This is vital, as the low carbon agenda is one which the EU and the international process is pursuing in any event. This legislation sets us apart as it will make Ireland one of the few EU members states that have adopted climate change legislation to date and one of the first EU countries to put a legal obligation on its government to develop policies to plan for existing and future climate change commitments. This Bill has been a long time in the making. We have provided a sound basis for ensuring that we strike the right balance between ambition and practicality.

In the end there were many great disasters and pities of the last Government, which is now characterised by the economic collapse, the Government's downfall, spiralling unemployment, the blanket bank guarantee and the collapse of the banking system. One of the greater tragedies of that Administration, regrettably, despite the laudable intentions of the Green Party through involvement by a Green Party environment Minister, was that it did not get to bring in the climate change legislation to which it had committed. However, one of the ironic aspects of the economic recession is that it has allowed us to pursue an agenda such as this. During the boom, as pressing as the issue was, it was very hard to give it political oxygen - no pun intended. It was very difficult to get it on the agenda as a popular news item or to get it on the political agenda at a serious level. This is a great difficulty which has surrounded the issue of climate change in recent years.

In my capacity as Chairman of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht, I wish to acknowledge the huge role that members of our committee, Members from both Houses and from all parties and none, played. One of them, Deputy Humphreys, is in the House today in a ministerial capacity. We sat three years ago, and in particular two years ago, through very fine weather on non-sitting days in the committee rooms in the basement, and we heard excellent testimony from academics, scientists, employer organisations, environmental groups, farming organisations, and all of the people who have been lobbying around this issue for one reason or another. They all got a very fair hearing and it is a testament to political reform that our committee system, which is an adjunct to Parliament, now has the opportunity to play such a pivotal role in developing critical legislation by virtue of its public hearings and consultations. The committee hearings went on for weeks and months. We eventually launched our report and won widespread praise and support for it from the groups which were involved in some shape or form. That body of work took us about two years to initiate and to complete.

All too often and for obvious reasons, governments will be criticised for what they did not do or what they said they would do and never did. When we take the economics out of the last number of years and look at the other issues then, along with the marriage equality referendum, this legislation represents a significant achievement for my party in government. I am very proud of that. I am also very proud, in an apolitical fashion, of the members of the Oireachtas joint committee from all parties and none and from both Houses who played a role. To bring about legislation which requires widespread public support, a process must be initiated that gives people a role and an impetus to deliver into it. Sometimes when dealing with issues such as these - there will be an example of it in the House later this evening - much of the terminology we use to advance or articulate our cause will not sell newspapers. It will not feature on the six o'clock news, the nine o'clock news or "Morning Ireland". This does not mean that it is any less important and that we should not do it. It is essential we do. To get it to this level is historic.

I was slightly dismayed, when we discussed the report of the committee in this House, that there were two Members, in particular, who spoke against it. Neither of them came to our committee. They never made submissions to our committee or made public pronouncements on the issue of climate change. They then decided to criticise the report for what they thought it did not contain. I was at a loss to find out in particular what elements in the Bill they thought should be included, aside from their rehearsed statements. They simply decided to criticise. They are not members of Deputy Ferris's party.

We are now at a critical juncture where we have to acknowledge the profound development in terms of climate policy and putting it on a statutory legal basis. The previous Administration, with all its faults and failings, did not get around to doing this and that was a great pity. It will be remembered for its failure to address the issue. However, we have a responsibility in this country to play our part on the world stage and we are doing it. That is something in which all legislators in this House and in Seanad Éireann can take pride. Trying to politically articulate an area such as this, which is not universally popular or sexy enough to dominate media headlines, is a very important initiative. I wish to acknowledge the role played by the Minister, Deputy Kelly, in bringing this to the forefront of his ministry, a ministry that has been dogged by controversial issues of one hue or another over the past 12 months. We are at a critical juncture in dealing with this issue.

Much was said about targets in the Bill. During the process of the committee hearings, we established with academic experts and people with expertise at various levels that we are bound by European targets. The absence of numerical targets in this Bill is not a cause for concern. When European law changes, we are bound and obligated by that law. As we move into another sphere in advancing the issue of climate change, Ireland will take its place as one of the few nations in the world that legislated for climate change. This is something of which we should take stock.

There will be a political requirement on Ministers, whoever is in the next Government, to come into this House every year and to produce sectoral maps and policy on climate. Although it may not happen before then we should nevertheless consider in the coming ten or 11 months what will be involved in this. The legislation will be on the Statute Book and that is something of which we as Members of this House should all be proud.

Deputy Martin Ferris

The Climate Action and Low-Carbon Development Bill, if implemented and carried out to the letter, can make a difference. It needs to be supported in that regard. Measures to alleviate the effects of climate change and to lower our carbon emissions are becoming more urgent and necessary as the years pass. In my constituency of Kerry, we are very aware of the effects of climate change, particularly the storms of early last year, the increase in severity of those storms, and the consequent coastal erosion. This did not happen on my doorstep alone, but across the western seaboard. There were and are examples of severe damage.

The Government, if one excuses the pun, needs to take its head out of the sand on the issue.

There seems to be no strategy for the phenomenon and there is scant provision for it. The Bill provides for a national adaptation framework in two years' time. The problem is that the damage is severe and the frequency of storms is increasing. There are predictions of more high tides. The highest tide in 70 years happened last Saturday night and Sunday. It was only that luck was with us that we did not have a storm as well. If there had been, the consequences could have been disastrous. Consider the damage done last year. With the same type of stormy weather, the consequences last Saturday would have been much worse.

As regards my portfolio, I am concerned that there is a major contradiction between the targets being boasted about by the Minister in terms of our potential for dairy and beef production and our obligations to reduce our carbon emissions. The joint committee on the environment has already recommended the desirability of supporting rain-fed, grass-based agriculture as opposed to more intensive, less sustainable forms of agriculture. This is commendable and makes perfect sense, but in the meantime we must discuss emissions management and consider international best practice on the issue.

Once again, I am calling on the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine to stand up for Ireland and defend our way of farming, which is comparatively environmentally friendly. At EU level there should be a trading system whereby our efficient and sustainable farming practices are rewarded with increased emissions quotas. We are moving further in terms of forestry, which is being incentivised. Does this not mean that we should be able to offset some of that ecologically beneficial activity against emissions from our national herd? The proposals of recent months regarding more funding being made available for forestry development are commendable and I support and welcome them fully, but I am concerned that we will be subject to fines due to increasing the herd and that Ireland's unique case is not being considered in the one-size-fits-all approach of Brussels to carbon emissions.

Next week, our milk quotas will be gone and it will be a free-for-all. Farmers all over the State are preparing for this by increasing the size of their herds and their production. That is understandable, as they wish to capitalise on the opportunity and contribute to the recovery of the economy. If we must wait, as this Bill suggests, for a further two and a half years before there is any specific strategy for carbon emissions reduction, we will be in trouble. I stress the importance of moving forward with a strategic approach as soon as possible. I hope that action will be taken. I do not want to see a situation where the farmers of Ireland must take the hit for the heavy industry and transport sectors. The beef and dairy farmers of Ireland are farming comparatively well for the environment and should not suffer a reduction in their herds and the imposition of fines because the Government has not stood up to make their case in Europe.

The importance of the agriculture sector, particularly the dairy sector, in creating jobs, benefiting our economy and helping in the recovery from the depression, recession or whatever one wants to call it is dependent on how we move the sector forward. As such, getting this Bill up and running as soon as possible is important to the country as a whole.

An Ceann Comhairle

I call Deputy Costello, who is sharing time with Deputies Barry and Mitchell O'Connor. Deputy Costello has ten minutes.

Deputy Joe Costello

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Bill. I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, to the House and acknowledge the work of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Kelly, in introducing this important legislation.

The extreme weather events that have hit Ireland in recent years and which battered our coastline last year and the year before, flooded towns and cities and inundated thousands of acres of farmland are signs that Ireland is experiencing climate change. These events are part of a trend. Each of the past three decades has been warmer than the previous one. The global temperature has been higher each year since 1976 than the 20th century average. Twelve of the 14 warmest years on record since 1880 have been since 2000. The extreme weather events that are hitting Ireland ever more frequently are part of a global pattern. What we are witnessing fits in with the scientific community's projections of what a warming world would be like, except that the projections are becoming a reality even faster than scientists expected. Despite what some may suggest, there is no serious split among climatologists on climate change. Global warming is a reality and is becoming a global crisis.

Today, the national forum on flooding visited Leinster House to discuss with Members the difficulty in getting flood insurance, be it in urban or country locations. The insurance companies are refusing to provide quotes or cover. They are doing this on the basis of climate change. They no longer accept the old given wisdom that a serious flood only happens once in 100 years. It is not even once in 50 years now. According to them, they are seeing a serious flood once or more every decade. Flood insurance is becoming a more serious issue. If the current trend continues, it will be impossible to get the insurance industry to provide any cover where there is a threat of flooding.

Limiting the average global surface temperature increase to 2° Celsius over the pre-industrial average has, since the 1990s, been commonly accepted as the minimum necessary to avoid dangerous climate change. However, the International Energy Agency, IEA, warns that, without more decisive action, we risk passing the 2° Celsius point-of-no-return increase that would make it impossible to prevent dangerous climate change. This would mean a future of food and fresh water shortages, devastating and intensifying weather extremes, coastal inundation, desertification, ocean acidification, mass extinction events, mass migrations of millions from the worst affected areas and conflicts. As to major coastal inundation, recent weeks have witnessed the destruction of the homes and islands of Vanuatu. Keeping below the 2° Celsius limit is feasible and affordable, but the window of opportunity is closing. The longer we delay, the more difficult and expensive it becomes.

Labour's manifesto at the previous general election committed the party in government to producing a climate change Bill that would set out a clear path for tackling climate change in line with our EU 2020 targets. The programme for Government includes that commitment. With this legislation, Ireland will be one of the first states to put a legal obligation on government to develop policies planning for existing and future climate commitments. Ireland's EU 2020 targets to be low carbon and climate resilient are contained in the Bill, as are the EU targets for 2050. The Government has defined what is meant by "low carbon" in the national policy position on climate change as "an 80% reduction in emissions from electricity, buildings and transport and carbon neutrality in agriculture and land use." Including this definition in the Bill will ensure there is no ambiguity in what is meant by "low carbon". I strongly advise that the definition be retained.

The Bill also stipulates that the national mitigation plan should be adopted within 24 months of the legislation's enactment. This timeframe could mean that it would be 2017 before a mitigation plan for reducing emissions was developed for the period 2013-20. Since work is already under way on developing the plan in parallel with this legislation, it would be more appropriate that the plan be adopted within no more than 12 months of enactment, but preferably sooner.

Global warming is a global crisis. Although climate change threatens all countries, it is the world's poorest and most vulnerable nations and their peoples that suffer most and can cope least. We live in a world of plenty, but one that is reaching its environmental limits.

We are struggling to feed a rapidly growing population under a changing climate. Ireland has played a strong and active role internationally in addressing the climate challenge. As part of our EU Presidency in 2013, I worked to ensure that Ireland had a lead in the negotiations for a new framework for global development post-2015, which will include efforts to address climate change. This Irish Government initiated a process on climate change that involved three EU Commissioners, humanitarian aid Commissioner Georgieva, development commissioner Piebalgs and environment Commissioner Potocnik, probably the first time ever that three Commissioners came together and they agreed the process on humanitarian aid, development, climate and the environment.

With the millennium development goals due to expire in 2015 and new goals due to come into place in September this year, the Irish Presidency achieved a joint EU position on the new global development framework, including a Common Position on the impact of climate change on development. By listening to the experiences of people in developing countries, the links between hunger, undernutrition and climate change are obvious. These people must endure unpredictable weather patterns in their struggle to feed their families. Damaged crops and less food push millions more people into poverty and hunger. As former President Mary Robinson powerfully stated at a major international conference organised in Dublin during the Irish Presidency in 2013, climate change is also a justice issue, as it undermines a host of internationally recognised human rights, has a larger impact on the poor and vulnerable and requires disproportionate action by developing countries.

The new integrated approach of the Rio+20 environmental goals with the post-2015 millennium development goals was combined into a single framework by the 28 EU member states under the Irish Presidency and was agreed. At the UN Summit in New York in 2013, this framework was adopted as the new way forward by the global community. This included countries such as China and India as well as developing countries in the African, Caribbean and Pacific regions which had never previously been engaged in climate change issues. This integrated approach provides a whole new and very important dimension to climate change. With Ireland’s strong track record in promoting climate justice, I believe this legislation would be enhanced by the incorporation of the principles of climate justice.

It is hard to persuade some of the major countries of the world, particularly developing countries, to engage with climate change because they see the developed countries as having had decades and maybe centuries of development in which they took no steps to deal with emissions or problems relating to carbon. They feel that climate change measures are an imposition on them because they have only been developing their countries and their industries for a few years. One way to engage the international community was to do it partly under climate change and partly under the development umbrella. All countries are anxious to ensure that international development proceeds on a sustainable basis. Climate change in this context cannot be separated from sustainability or from development and humanitarian issues because they are the way to engage countries that would otherwise not be prepared to engage in reducing emissions.

It is a complex issue, not just scientifically but in terms of international relations. In this legislation we have begun the process of tackling climate change and meeting European Union standards but we still have a major role to play in ensuring mechanisms are in place to allow the world community to engage in climate change measures which they do not see as threatening their economic development. Some of that work was done during the Irish Presidency and there is a lot more to be done in the years to come. I commend the legislation.

Deputy Tom Barry

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Climate Change and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015. It is an issue that affects all of us, especially those of us in agriculture. It is very important to set targets and to have oversight of their progress but there is an inclination to set targets and to try to make the transition to a low-carbon economy without actually considering what that practically entails. We need to make sure our ambitions are practically feasible and that there are no negative consequences from not preparing properly for what we have to embark on.

In the UK there is a renewable heat incentive scheme where an incentive is given to the producers of heat from sources other than fossil fuels in the form of a payment of a penny for every kW produced or replaced. We need to look seriously at a renewable heat incentive scheme because the initial cost of producing renewable energies is quite high and that cost is often subsidised within a scheme such as the one in the UK.

We lost an opportunity in the past to look at district heating schemes. A particularly good scheme exists in Tralee, where locally produced forestry is woodchipped down and heats an awful lot of houses for a fraction of the price of using fossil fuels. With fossil fuels having dropped in price there is a tendency to be lax but we should use this as an opportunity to progress all these avenues. If we are to reduce our carbon emissions it must take place across all sectors.

There is a long lead-in time so it is important we think about this properly. In agriculture there is huge potential as 60% of greenhouse gas emissions in tillage come from artificial fertilisers. We are very used to using them and we know what they do but we need to start embracing the use of sludges and all other such materials. We have been sidestepping the issue. We have produced enough phosphate from all the organic sludges in the country to mean we should not have to purchase artificial phosphates. We should put a system in place which is verifiable and keeps our good food image but we are not doing that.

Biogas digestion is big in Germany but we have very little here and incentives need to be put in place for people to do it. In England they have also brought in a renewable heat incentive scheme for domestic use. In my own house I run a wood gasification boiler which is incredibly efficient and has meant we have not burned oil in five years. These work particularly well in rural areas where there is plenty of timber and other items suitable for combustion. Although the SEAI brought out its scheme a number of years ago the amount of wood gasification boilers still in operation is only 30% so we have failed. I have found that the skill sets do not exist to install these boilers and keep them so we need to train people to fit them and ensure they last a lifetime.

We need to recognise our future obligations and this Bill does that. We want a low carbon climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economy. They are lovely words but the measures have to be practical. In a week's time milk quotas will be removed and emissions from cattle are getting a lot of blame for climate change. We need to look at that and we need Teagasc to work on it. We need to put other mitigating measures in place that will allow us to expand our herd and get more production while recognising our carbon obligations.

Climate patterns are developing, and there is not a farmer in the country who needs to be reminded of that. We had a fodder crisis only a short while ago. That happened because of climate change. We saw wet weather that I hope we will not see again for a very long time. We had a winter that lasted almost 18 months. We are not getting the fine weather we once enjoyed. Even this March soil temperatures are very cold. There is virtually no spring barley set when March is normally our planting month. Nobody recognises the issue of climate change more than farmers. That is not to say that we alone in meeting our climate obligations will solve climate change - it will take every other country to get involved - but we need to recognise our obligation and do it right.

The Government needs to take ownership in this regard. I welcome the establishment of a national expert advisory council on climate change. We need agri-representation on that council, and the director of Teagasc being one of the members of it is welcome, but there is also a need for a member from the farming community to be on that board, be it from the Irish Farmers Association or wherever. I strongly urge the appointment of an active farmer to that board.

Some of the issues at meetings I have attended about which people have been most vociferous have been objections to the development of wind energy. Many people are upset about wind energy and if that is to be part of our renewable targets we need to start getting proper information and facts out to the public so that it is not just hearsay and people getting upset about issues that may not be correct. We need to very clearly address that. There have been objections not only to the development of wind energy but to the transmission of power with regard to the erection of pylons. We need to bring people with us in our consideration of these issues and we need to discuss them fairly with the people.

I welcome the presentation of an annual transition statement to Dáil Éireann and this will change as we move along. Oversight is needed. We need to make sure that with any movement in the direction of a low-carbon society we also recognise the obligations people have in order to make a living. One of the criticisms levelled at the Green Party in the past was that it came up with lovely ideas but, unfortunately, they were not practical at a farm level. We need to examine a country where such change has been introduced with the support of everybody. We are all working in the same direction but we need to make sure that such change does not impact overly on the people who have maintained this environment to a very high level to date.

I welcome this Bill and hope there will be good contributions on it. I recognise there are countries in the developing world that are still forging ahead with coal-fired power stations and their emissions are extremely high. We need to consider diplomatically discussing with those people their obligations towards climate change action worldwide. Our emphasis should be national but we should spread our knowledge in this area as we grow internationally to ensure that we have a climate that is stable for the longer period because that is what we will hand on to our children in time.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

I sincerely thank the Technical Group and Deputy Mattie McGrath for sharing their time with me. I am glad to have this opportunity to speak to the Bill. I acknowledge the presence of the Minister of State, Deputy Ann Phelan, and thank her for being here. During the course of an earlier discussion on the Leader programme, we heard that people working on the ground were highly complimentary of her and her work to date in dealing with Leader groups. Despite the fact that we have a problem with what the Government is doing, we acknowledge her work and ability. We would like to put pound signs behind her ministerial role and then we would be flying, but hopefully that will come too. I acknowledge the input of the Minister of State and thank her for the excellent work she has been doing.

This is an important Bill. Amazingly, one group that probably did the most disservice to climate control and climate action was the Green Party because of the adversarial way it took on this issue. They were down on farmers and on everybody. There were against everything and for nothing. They did not greatly help in progressing this issue. We have to consider climate change not in a timeframe of a year, a month or five or ten years but over the past 50, 100, 200, 500 or 1,000 years. We can reflect on the many climate changes we have experienced. When we hear people talking about having had a bad winter, we can reflect on when countries in Europe were under metres upon metres of ice which has long since receded, but that shows climate change over a long timeframe.

A former Vice President of the US, Al Gore, who ran for the presidency but did not make it, has made a very successful and good living out of talking about climate change and climate control, and more luck to him, as have many others in society. They make a living out of talking about our climate. Our workers and farmers live in our climate. The previous speaker made a well thought out contribution and he knows what he is talking about when it comes to agriculture and related issues. Farmers have had to endure the most unusual of scenarios in recent years. Our forefathers would never have thought that hay and straw would have to be imported from France and other parts of Europe and distributed in a famine like crisis through our marts. We were all, myself included, very glad to receive it at the time because we had nothing to feed our animals. There were cows in sheds and we had nothing to feed them. We were damn glad to get what we got from the marts. I compliment the people who organised that and the then Government. Even though we had been calling on the then Minister to intervene for a long time, the Minister eventually belatedly woke up and realised there was a crisis. It was an usual situation. It was unprecedented but we had to work through it and we got out the other side. That crisis showed that our climate can have a dramatic impact on people's livelihoods. Parts of North America experience awful winters but they can deal with frost, ice and snow, but if we get the slightest sign of frost, ice or snow, there is chaos. There is a major panic and it is as if it were the end of the world as we had never experienced such conditions. We must ensure that we are capable of dealing with such events. I have dealt with the atrocious winters we have had. I want to especially compliment the IFA and the ICMSA on dealing with the crisis at that time. There is nothing worse than a farmer having a shed full of cattle and nothing to feed them.

That is awful. Not a lot of Members sitting on these seats have heard animals roaring with hunger, but any person who has that knowledge knows what I am talking about. For the first time in my lifetime, I heard that roar and it was bad. I thank everyone involved in addressing what was a serious issue. We worked through and got out of it.

As regards wind and wave energy, we want to provide as many renewable energy options as possible. Local authorities have much to do with dealing with this issue because when a group of farmers want to form a committee to enhance farm incomes by developing a community wind farm, they must face their local authority. Unfortunately, on many occasions local authorities are restrictive in the planning permission they grant. In the area I am from some wind farm applications have been granted, while others have been refused. We were always told that beauty was in the eye of the beholder and I can see nothing wrong with wind farm development, provided it occurs in a location where it will not prove detrimental to the person in a family home. If householders object, more luck to them and they are right to do so if they do not want it. However, if a wind farm is proposed and developed in a place away from built-up areas, while it may be seen from some areas, I can see nothing wrong with it. If it is not damaging property values for those adjacent to it, there is nothing wrong with it. Unfortunately, for many years local authorities have been refusing far more proposals than they have been granting. If ten farmers come together and want to develop a wind farm with a number of turbines, when it comes to zoning the area, one does not have to zone restrictively for two or three farmers but for hundreds of acres. It makes no difference who owns the land, but a big scope of ground is included. Unfortunately, local authorities have been refusing applications. If they were granted, it would give us a valuable source of renewable energy and, most importantly, give small farmers additional off-farm income that they would not otherwise have. That additional income might help to sustain the family farm and keep them in place.

This is the part the Green Party missed completely because it was not on the right wavelength. The best person in Ireland to protect, mind and safeguard land is a farmer because he or she knows that he or she does not really own the land. I do not own my land; rather, it was given to me by my family and I will never sell so much as one millimetre of it. I will pass it on to the next generation. I am the same as other landowners and we do not own the land. It is not a valuable asset and not something in our pockets. Someone would have to shoot me to get me to sell one acre of land and that still would not do because I would not sell it. All true farmers are of this mentality. A farmer is a caretaker of ground. He or she was given the land and is grateful to his or her parents and grandparents. He or she will mind it and spend every bob he or she has or does not have to improve it, to try to make it better and more viable in order that it can accrue more income. At the end of his or her days, when he or she pops his or her clogs, all he or she is interested in doing is picking the best person to mind it, take care of it and pass it on to the next generation. If people really want to study climate change, they should read the statistics for farmers and how often they sell land. It is a regular occurrence in other parts of Europe. One day they have land, the next they do not because they flip and sell land which they treat like a commodity. In Ireland it is not a commodity. That is where the Green Party fell on its bottom and why there are no Green Party members with bottoms on seats in this Chamber. It missed the big issue. The farmers of Ireland are the custodians of land and heritage and the people who protect the environment. I am not a critical person, but I was disappointed with the Government when it had no agri-environmental scheme for the first time in 27 years. That was wrong because if we give farmers encouragement and an incentive, they will spend it threefold in enhancing and protecting their landholdings.

When it comes to enhancing and protecting the planet, farmers play a critical role. Our farmers have invested heavily in slatted sheds in order that they can winter cattle indoors. Sheep farmers have invested heavily in sheep sheds in order that they can winter, fatten and lamb sheep indoors. Slurry being spread at appropriate times is a big issue as we should never try to farm by the calendar. We should farm in the way the farmer wants. The Minister of State is a sensible person and knows that January could be a better month for the spreading of slurry than August. Many times in the past 15 years it was far easier to travel land in January than in August. That is unbelievable but true and I know it to be true from experience. In January the weather could be fine, hard and fresh, but we might not be able to travel land in August if it was pouring rain.

Farmers have invested, but I know of numerous towns and villages where sewage is going straight into lakes and rivers. If private individuals or farmers were to do it, there would be outrage and they would be condemned and convicted for doing so. However, the main polluters of the environment are the local authorities. In any county in Ireland finding the biggest polluter presents no problem because all it involves is going to the local authority, not farmers, guesthouse owners or small business people. This issue must be addressed quickly.

The Bill provides for the unequivocal commitment of the State to existing and future EU and international law and in respect of greenhouse gas emissions and the climate change adaptation framework. I have major concerns regarding the EU's decision in 2009 in respect of greenhouse gas mitigation targets up to the year 2020. The reason for those concerns relates to the fact that the issue of climate change has been hijacked by vested interests and is being used as a vehicle to make money. We are all aware that climate change has always been with us. As stated earlier, one need only consider the ice age and the fact that we have experienced many different types of climate change over hundreds of years. When one discusses climate, one cannot do so in the context of a period of five, ten, or 20 years. One must instead consider periods of 25, 50, 100 or thousands of years. One must carry out studies and then assess what needs to be done. That is the aspect of this matter which the Green Party missed. In order to cheer up the Minister of State - she may think I am becoming boring - I must inform her that one of the most amusing things I ever witnessed occurred when the Green Party was, to some extent, in power. Its Ministers used to cycle to work in the Dáil and they would be followed by their ministerial cars, which had their briefcases and their papers in the boot. They thought they were great because they had their pictures taken as they cycled in the gates of Leinster House. I am not a member of the Green Party - I never will be - but I cycle to work quite early every morning and I enter the complex by a back way. Nobody sees me arriving. The members of the Green Party to whom I refer did what I call the "green cause" no good.

Let us consider who are the real people who are interested in green issues, who promote climate protection and who - in the best way possible - act as custodians of our climate. Those to whom I refer are the people who were hurt and put down by the Green Party when it was in government. I am, of course, referring to the members of the farming community. I am glad that community, its representatives, politicians who have sympathy with it, the IFA, the ICMSA and all the other farming organisations survived when the Green Party did not. Farmers and the IFA survived because they were straight about their business and they worked in respect of the issues. They knew what they were talking about and they did not speak nonsense. They were very sensible and practical. I admire the IFA so much because I am of the view that it is in tune with the relevant issues.

We need more help from people such as the Minister of State. She must encourage some of her senior colleagues who might not be as knowledgeable as she is with regard to matters such as those under discussion. The Minister of State knows what I am talking about in this regard. Her senior colleagues in Government need to be pointed in the right direction. Those of us on this side of the House try our best but some of the Minister of State's colleagues remain in a coma. Given that she is not in a coma, I would appreciate it if the Minister of State would use her influence in respect of these matters. I am acutely aware that she has been travelling throughout the country attending meetings and that she has been warmly welcomed as a result of her common-sense approach. I would like her to relay to her colleagues the views expressed by ordinary people in respect of climate change.

I am grateful for having had the opportunity to contribute to this debate and I would appreciate it if the Minister of State took on board my strongly-held views on the matter to which it relates.

Minister of State at the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government (Deputy Ann Phelan)

Perhaps I might begin by thanking Deputy Healy-Rae for his kind words. I assure him that I would never consider him boring. I thank him for highlighting the critical role that farmers play with regard to this matter. The Deputy referred to the Green Party. If memory serves, I seem to recall one particular Green Party Minister of State indicating that she was a very good friend to farmers. I will leave it to the Deputy to ponder that one.

Deputy Michael Healy-Rae

I will ponder it.

Deputy Ann Phelan

I thank the Deputies who contributed to this debate for sharing with the House their views on the Bill and on how it might be further enhanced. I am heartened by the level of interest shown and I know the Minister will give consideration to many of the ideas put forward. He and I have listened carefully to the contributions and some common themes appear to have emerged. I am conscious that the Minister already covered these areas in his opening contribution. However, given the importance of the Bill and the debate relating to it, I believe it useful that I reiterate his views briefly on the issues raised.

There has been much said in respect of the setting of targets and trying to define low carbon on a legislative basis. Although I appreciate the reasoning behind the arguments being made, there is no doubt that such an approach is perhaps not in our national interest. As part of European Union processes, mitigation targets are already prescribed and will be agreed for all member states, including Ireland, on an incremental basis over the coming decades. It is important to spend some time examining this process in a little more detail. Reference was made to the debate about targets being set for 2030. Notwithstanding the targets already set for 2020 under the effort-sharing decision of 2009, we are now entering a critical phase in terms of how a new decision will be agreed for 2030. Deputy Catherine Murphy made reference to Ireland being set a new target of 40% for this date. However, Members should note that this is a target for the EU as a whole and may not necessarily translate exactly for each member state. This does not mean that Ireland will have a 40% mitigation target, particularly as the next stage of negotiations will involve another effort-sharing decision for the division of burdens among member states.

The Taoiseach made it clear at the European Council meeting that what is to be agreed must take account of Ireland's specific circumstances and be achievable, fair and economically sustainable. In this regard, specific recognition was given to the multiple objectives of agriculture and land use, including reference to ensuring coherence between the EU's food security and climate change objectives. Moreover, on the basis of a proposal from Ireland, the contribution of afforestation to greenhouse gas mitigation and sequestration was also recognised by the European Council. Again, this is crucial for Ireland as it continues to make major investments with a view to expanding new forest cover. Within such a context, the question must be asked as to why we would consider setting different or duplicate targets within national legislation in advance of targets being agreed at EU level and even if such targets were to be set, the basis on which this would be done. Are we suggesting the establishment of two separate, parallel processes? Putting in place our own targets would cut across and interfere with the EU's target-setting process and could lead to potentially adverse outcomes. We want to develop a clear and coherent path to meeting our EU targets and not impose on ourselves multiple overlapping policy objectives which lead to greater complexity, policy misalignment, increases in costs and a tendency towards such unexpected outcomes. We would prefer to concentrate our efforts on achieving a single target, namely, that agreed with our EU partners, while incurring the least cost for the Irish economy. Ireland will, in due course, be set what will need to be a fair and achievable target for 2030. This should be the primary focus of our attention in the short to medium term.

On the second issue, and as stated by the Minister when commencing the debate, there is no internationally-agreed definition of what a low-carbon economy looks like.

By defining it in statute, we could end up restricting the breadth of activities which could conceivably contribute to lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Does the State want to use a straitjacket in developing national mitigation plans? Do we want to restrict how we might innovate in identifying the best path forward in terms of decarbonisation? Targets can only be realised by putting in place appropriate and proportionate mitigation measures across the sectors with the most significant emissions. There is no shortcut for this, which is why the Bill focuses on institutional arrangements for ensuring such sectoral mitigation measures can be developed, approved and implemented.

A number of Deputies have referred to the delays in putting a national mitigation plan in place or, as Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett put it, kicking the can down the road. However, the work in developing mitigation measures is not awaiting the enactment of legislation. In anticipation of legislative requirements, work has been ongoing for some time in several Departments to scope out additional mitigation measures beyond those already adopted. Deputy Catherine Murphy put it well when she spoke about ensuring the nuts and bolts were in place. I cannot underestimate the importance of this process. In my opening statement I spoke about the importance of having sufficient time to engage in appropriate public consultation and meet our obligations in having due regard to processes relating to strategic environmental assessment and appropriate assessment, both of which are critical considerations in the development of a national mitigation plan. If we move too fast, we are criticised for not being inclusive. This point was made strongly by Deputy Brian Stanley. If, however, we follow due process, we incur the wrath of those who are accusing us of kicking the can down the road. We intend to do the right thing and make sure we will have sufficient time to do it well.

Several contributors suggested the Government had ignored the recommendations of the Oireachtas joint committee on the heads of the Bill. The committee did not make recommendations as such but instead proposed possible courses of action to further develop the heads of the Bill. I assure the House and, in particular, those who contributed to this process that the proposed courses of action were given due consideration in the final drafting of the Bill. Of the possible courses of action proposed by the committee, the following five have been accepted fully: that the annual emission limits up to 2020 should be based on the European Union's effort sharing decision of 2009; that the annual emission limits up to 2050 should be as agreed in effort sharing decisions at EU level; that the intervals between proposed national roadmaps should be not greater than five years; that the preparation of sectoral mitigation measures should be integrated into the national mitigation plan; and that the expert advisory council should be empowered to publish its reports directly after submitting them to the Minister. In this regard, it is worth noting that the committee did not recommend the introduction of our own annual emission targets between now and 2050 beyond those agreed at EU level.

Some Members presented Ireland's comparatively high greenhouse gas emissions per capita as evidence of some failure on our part to reduce emissions. This is quite misleading and does not fully reflect our unique greenhouse gas emissions profile and historical trends. The per capita figure can be easily explained by the fact that Ireland has a unique emissions profile which reflects our large agriculture sector. Agriculture features prominently not because of any lack of efficiency but solely because of the size of the sector relative to others. Agricultural emissions account for well over 40% of our emissions under the trading scheme. Emissions per capita appear comparatively high because of the size of the national herd. If we look at carbon dioxide emissions alone, Ireland's emissions per capita are only marginally above average for the EU 28, at 8.295 tonnes per capita, as against the average value of 7.345 tonnes per capita. Considering that Ireland, by virtue of its location and low population density, does not have access to many of the public transport and heat distribution options available in mainland Europe, this is a creditable position and reflects well on the actions that have taken place. Ireland's actions in reducing carbon dioxide emissions are having an impact.

Much has been said about the perceived lack of independence attaching to the expert advisory council in its advice giving function. There will be a challenge in achieving the required balance of input on the council so as to ensure independent advice is provided. On the one hand, we want to avoid a scenario in which the council will be so far removed from real world policy making and capabilities that its advice will be ignored. On the other, we also need to ensure the advice being proffered can prompt the system to act effectively rather than just endeavouring to find favour with the political system of the day. Between these two considerations lies a council with the expertise and a mind of its own to appreciate both the demands of our mitigation targets and the realities of where we are. I am fully confident that the council will play a significant role in providing independent and robust advice as we navigate a course towards our mitigation targets. In the coming weeks I hope to bring forward nominations for appointment by the Government. The persons concerned will have a wealth of appropriate expertise and experience in climate change related disciplines and serve alongside the ex officio members of the four key agencies, namely, the EPA, Teagasc, SEAI and the ESRI, who will also bring a wealth of talent, expertise and practical understanding of the administrative system. This combination will allow us to have the best of both worlds. The council will have to operate within strict terms of reference set out in the relevant provisions of the Bill, including section 10 which deal with the disclosure of interests for all those serving on the council.

Deputies Catherine Murphy and Clare Daly, among others, expressed concern about the absence of an explicit reference to climate justice in the Bill. Few, if any, of us would doubt the validity of considering the impact of climate change on those who have made the least contribution to the problem and the most limited means to adapt. We know that climate change exacerbates many existing problems and affects most acutely those who are already marginalised or vulnerable. Our aim must be to provide for practical actions. By far the single most important contribution any country can make is to take ambitious action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as part of the global effort to limit climate change and its impact. That is what the Bill is already doing by putting in place an institutional framework to ensure robust mitigation policy measures will be developed in a timely fashion. Through the European Union, Ireland is active in the international negotiations which aim to deliver in December a legally binding global agreement on combating climate change. The Bill recognises the importance of these international discussions in having regard to existing obligations under international agreements. Ensuring all citizens have the option and means to access information and participate in the development of climate policies and actions affecting them is crucial in ensuring our response to climate change protects and promotes the rights of all. The Bill provides for such participation. Furthermore, by providing support for countries which need to respond and adapt to climate change, we can ensure Ireland's efforts will be part of a global transition to a more climate resilient world.

Ireland has maintained significant support, reporting €34 million in 2013 in climate finance, mostly for the adaptation project in Ireland's key partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Work is continuing to explore options of how to maintain and enhance such support well into the future.

Rather than legislating for broad concepts like climate justice, Ireland has already demonstrated its commitment through practical actions, aimed at ensuring a fair and inclusive national and global response to climate change that promotes sustainable transition for all. However, we will reflect further on this point and consider whether and how we can reinforce our commitment to climate justice, including through explicit reference in our national climate policy position.

I would like to reflect on the journey that has brought us here today. In particular, I note the level of frustration that exists in terms of getting a climate Bill published, never mind enacted. It is no secret to say that the Bill has been a long time in gestation, but now it is here. I would like to think we can get a collective mandate to get on with the work that needs to be done and avoid any further delays in this process. I know that as the Bill proceeds through the Oireachtas, Deputies and Senators will make heartfelt contributions to the debate. I have taken note of the intentions to table amendments and am willing to consider the proposals tabled on merit, but only where I think such changes can enhance the existing provisions in terms of making a practical difference in the context of implementation.

For example, Deputies Stanley and Boyd Barrett made reference to the role of local authorities in the development of a national mitigation plan. We have been looking at similar proposals, particularly from the operational perspective. As Members know, we have provisions within the Bill in respect of the role of local authorities and the making of adaptation frameworks. There may also be merit in considering trying to underpin, on a legislative basis, relevant operational aspects for mitigation. We will also commit to taking another look at the possible courses of action as outlined in the joint committee's report. However, there may not be much scope to make significant changes for the reasons already outlined.

We all share the same ambition for the legislation. It is historic and is a significant step towards making a meaningful contribution to both the required mitigation and adaptation efforts by the State over the coming decades in the interests of all.

Question put and agreed to.