Remarks by President McAleese to the Environmental Protection Agency
Johnstown Castle Estate, Wexford, Wednesday, 15th June, 2011
Dia dhibh a chairde. Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo libh ar an ócáid speisialta seo.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I am delighted to be here with you today. Thank you to Dr Mary Kelly for her invitation and to the IT team for organising video conferencing facilities that allow us to communicate between here and the regional offices.
There is a very familiar and true saying that ‘We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.’ It is not just a smart, pithy phrase; it is a philosophy which, once we get its meaning, insists that we tread this earth with a respectful vigilance, with an abiding duty of care to those who come after us and who depend on us to act honourably, intelligently and thoughtfully.
Yet we live in a world of conflicting demands and with many, many examples both historically and in contemporary times of decisions made, of things done which have brought so-called benefits to one generation at an appalling cost to the next. In our own time prosperity, complex modernity and technological sophistication have run in tandem with, and often at odds with, great debates about effective environmental protection. The tensions can lead to difficult decisions and competing needs. Navigating through the chaos of so many voices we need the strong, scholarly, steady, persuading influence of bodies like the Environmental Protection Agency. Thanks to your work we know and accept that, as a society, we all have a collective responsibility to ensure that the future development of our economy is proofed so as to contribute to the sustainability of the environment in which we live and work.
Our country has changed phenomenally in a relatively short period from a predominantly rural lifestyle to large scale urbanisation, from low-tech industries to high-tech or added value industries and services. Our consumer-driven growth and globalised industrial base have created dependencies around imported oil which we are trying to offset with moves to renewable sources of energy many of which are still in the relatively early or mid-stages of full development. We have become accustomed to thinking more strategically both personally and communally in terms of recycling and reusing, in terms of reducing our carbon footprint and our energy consumption.
We buy energy efficient appliances and bulbs, insulate our homes, change our behaviours and work practices as part of a national effort to transform old wasteful ways of working and living into dynamic modes of sustainable working and living.
A change in attitudes like that does not happen overnight. It happens because of people who have the determination, the passion and the foresight to effect change, people who have the vision to look to the future and see how it should be shaped and people who have the energy and courage to drive an important message home, even when it is often not what others might wish to hear.
Somebody once said that “There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth; we are all crew." Our behaviours affect each other across geographic borders and so environmental protection is a global issue and responsible environmental education and practice are global imperatives.
But responsibility starts locally and your work helps us in our task of being exemplars of good practice and in garnering the national spirit of social responsibility which can truly ring the changes we need to see. It is no surprise that the National Economic and Social Council recently cited you as one of Ireland’s best agencies, and one with a high international standing. No surprise - but something each and every one of you should be very, very proud of.
Because of your work in research and development, environmental education and guidance, policing, monitoring, licensing, assessment, regulation and all the many other things you do, the children of today’s Ireland and tomorrow’s Ireland have a chance to breathe pure and healthy air in a green and environmentally secure place - a country where our greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced, our water and soil will be of high quality, our resources will be used efficiently and environmental considerations will play a central mainstreamed role in policy making at every level from the national to the local including in the home.
There are both very sophisticated and very simple weather vanes which point to your success. Among the simplest and the most pleasant is the welcome increase in the number of Irish beaches that have been awarded blue flag status this year. That did not happen by accident but by the persistent driving towards excellence and refusal to accept anything less.
The Environmental Protection Agency has a broad and constantly evolving remit that is more than a task, it is a mission. I would like to thank each one of you for making this mission your own personal vocation and your life’s work. You promote a culture that protects and conserves our environment. You engage with all the partners you need to bring on board to make sure that Crew Ireland are helping steer the good ship earth in a direction that is sensible and good for all of humankind.
I congratulate you on the high standards you constantly set yourselves and achieve; standards which are admired internationally and which make me very proud to be in your company today.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir agus comhghairdeas libh arís.