An Independent TD says cans of hairspray are not to blame for the hole in the ozone layer.

Danny Healy-Rae says nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean 50 years ago is what caused the problem.

He was speaking in the Dáil as it ratified the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The Paris accord was agreed by over 195 countries and parties in 2015, and will enter into force on November 4th.

The European Union ratified the agreement ahead of member states, and submitted its instrument of ratification on October 5th 2016.

Member states share a commitment to cut emissions by at least 40% by 2030.

Deputy Healy Rae says the agreement will have a severe and negative impact on farmers and warned he could not support anything that would reduce the national herd:

"There has been a lot of untruths bandied about, going back now for many years.

"They told us about the ozone layer - and that it was greeenhouse gases and that there's cans of hairspray or whatever - but they never told us that nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean 50 years ago actually caused the serious damage to the ozone layer".

This is not the first time the Kerry TD has made such remarks about the environment.

In May, he told the Dáil: "I believe that God above is in charge of the weather - and that we here can't do anything about it".

Clarifying those remarks later, he told Newstalk: "What I was saying is clearly that back over the ages there have been patterns of climate change.

"Ever before countries became industrialised or ever before we had combustible engines there were serious patterns of climate change going back over the ages".