Tomorrow is Earth Day, which is an opportunity to recognise, reflect and reaffirm our commitment on climate change and our commitments under the Paris Agreement. We have a responsibility to leave behind a better environment for our children. To do nothing to achieve that goal would be a dereliction of our collective responsibilities as parliamentarians to our citizens and our planet. I call on the Taoiseach to provide the supports necessary to develop research and development in Ireland which will, in turn, make us leading innovators in this field, to use our position on the international stage, both on the UN Security Council and within the EU, to be a voice for young people on this issue and to reach out to less fortunate nations, which are already struggling, and work with them to prevent the humanitarian catastrophe in developing nations. Given that the Climate Action and Low-Carbon Emissions Bill will reach Second Stage this afternoon, we should redouble our efforts in our legislative commitments.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and key priority for the Government, namely, the challenge of climate. Tomorrow is Earth Day and we can all do our bit. The Ceann Comhairle may look with fondness at the wild garden in the back lawn of Leinster House. I walked by it yesterday, just to have a look. I wrote to the Ceann Comhairle about this when in opposition. It has come on in leaps and bounds and is a very pleasurable sight. It illustrates the incremental steps we can collectively take to restore biodiversity and prevent its continued destruction and achieve more broadly our climate change agenda.

On the UN Security Council, Ireland has identified climate change as a significant security issue but also something that requires a global response. It is good to see countries, including our own, significantly increasing objectives and targets on this. It will be challenging but it is necessary for the generations to come.