Annual Transition Statement: Statements Seanad Éireann — 2022-06-22 ============================================================ Pauline O'Reilly (GP), Labour Panel I welcome the Minister of State. I am going to talk about the last point that he made about the most vulnerable and the impact that climate is having on the most vulnerable. I am particularly talking 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 really ramp things up when it comes to our global responsibilities. I will point to three things in particular. 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, Deputy Eamon Ryan, at COP26 last year. Where are we with that? The third point is that we use our seat on the UN Security Council for climate action reasons. I have my doubts about whether that is what is actually happening with that UN Security Council seat. I would like to see some evidence and some transparency across government as to how that is being used. It is really important that we bring those global responsibilities to this Chamber because when it comes to famines right across the world, it can seem so far removed from the everyday life experiences of all of us. We all have struggles and all of our constituents across the country have struggles but Ireland is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of what is in the pot when it comes to our budget. That is why I want to ensure the budget is used effectively for the poorest people in the world. Greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland are 54 times that of Somalia, which I am particularly going to talk about. 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 in this world on this planet which we are all here to protect wherever we live. Those of us in the richest part of the world, those of us who have those high emissions, have a greater responsibility to those children. Trócaire and Dóchas, in particular, are suggesting to us that 350,000 children are likely to die in the Horn of Africa this summer alone. Even to think of one child dying from malnutrition is absolutely devastating to me. Therefore, we cannot, as a Government, knowing the reality as we do for these people turn a blind eye. These transitional statements afford us an opportunity to bring up all aspects of climate so this is the one I have decided to talk about today because I really want to be a spokesperson in this Chamber for Dóchas and Trócaire to make sure the message comes across. Last week, I appeared on television with Ms Caoimhe de Barra and I gave a commitment that I would present their budget submission. They are seeking an additional €233 million in budget 2023 to put us on the path to our ODA target. The Minister of State was in the room with me when we were negotiating, and we made sure that the programme for Government contained our commitment to get us to 0.7% by 2030 and we are still way off. Even with the increase in the budget of €176 million in 2021 that still only brings us to 0.32% of GNI. We are way off and need to do much better in budget 2023. It is really important to say that there has been a doubling of climate finance. That is really important and the commitment of this Government is recognised by these organisations. Let us make sure that we get the message out loud and clear that this has to be a reality. By 2025, we are to get to €225 million per year in climate finance and, therefore, there must be a real step up in the next budget. When people ask me how we deal with this situation there are two issues. This hunger and drought are predominantly because of climate. 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 do we deal with that? There has to be two things. Number one is everything that the Minister of State has outlined. The reason the Green Party went into government is because we have to make the changes in our countries that emit the most. Some 10% of the richest countries in the world emit 52% of greenhouse gas emissions. That is a massive job and it cannot be done by Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. It has to be done by us. We take that responsibility really seriously. The other part is adaptation. We must ensure that we have the finance and are assisting people to get beyond where they are now. When one lives in a country on the Equator and cannot rely on one's seasons, one has no ability, no backup and no economy behind one that can ensure one can put food on the table. We are now seeing the crisis in trying to get grain out of Ukraine. That impacts us. We talk about our farmers and the impact of that grain not getting to our agriculture and our farmers. It really does deeply impact them. However, those most impacted are the people who are already living in extreme poverty and malnutrition. That is the people of Africa. That is why we have an obligation to bring Ukrainians to our country who are fleeing war but also to deal with the global knock-on for the most vulnerable people in the world. Finally, I thank the Minister of State for this opportunity to raise these issues. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2022-06-22/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:40+00:00 Sitting date: 2022-06-22