Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to speak slowly but speak less, if that helps. If the Chair allows, I may call on some of my colleagues to contribute as I am not an expert in all of these areas. I will bring them in if that is okay. I believe it is a good way to do business.

The Senator is right, this is about ambition. That is what we are trying to set out here. What is our ambition for this country? Do we believe in it and can we achieve it? This ambition must be marked out in different plans and there must be connectivity in Government. The regions must also be connected. That is what we are trying to do in this framework. I agree with the Senator about being fed by opportunity. When it comes to climate change, this is about trying to bring climate change initiatives, environmental issues and sustainability more into planning and bringing integrated climate consideration into the statutory plans and the guidelines. This planning document will reflect, and takes on board, the national climate mitigation plan on which the Minister, Deputy Naughten, is leading. It is part of the thinking here and part of our strategy. The Minister is also developing a national clean air strategy which will feed into this. This plan is also about bringing some of the strategies together and setting out those targets and ambitions.

I agree with the Senator about our housing stock. We need to be more ambitious in adapting and enhancing the houses we have at the moment. We have made great inroads with the social housing stock. There will be catch-up with some of the private housing stock.

The building guidelines and regulations reflect where we are trying to go in the future. This is the case with the plans for domestic houses which are to be near zero energy buildings, NZEB, by 2020 or 2018. We are making progress but I agree we need to push that further. We also had the competition recently for using technology for old people and accommodation. The Senator is correct that technology is changing so quickly that things will change in the distribution of energy as well as its creation, such as wind and wave. Everything in this area is adapting quickly. Scientists in this country are at the forefront of developing these technologies which we hope can be brought to market very soon.

Irish people need to buy into believing in science, understanding it and agreeing with it. This week people have been complementing the work of Met Éireann but that was the application of science. We believed the science and we trusted Met Éireann. Through our different plans, we will move with technology and people need to understand that as a country, we rely on evidence-based decision making. It involves research, and the scientists bringing their expertise together. We need to build trust in the system back up and belief that we know what we are doing. That is something that the Senator understands more than others. We need to build around energy development and energy solutions as much as we can.

The Oireachtas often debates the situation in rural areas. They have much to contribute to energy solutions. Many years ago I spent time in a place where I saw a great deal of local energy production and it was more acceptable to the community there. That is allowed for in this plan. We are often obsessed with big energy production which causes a lot of hassle but we must look at all the different types out there and embrace them as best we can.

Many members have mentioned investment in transport systems. We must create a critical mass of people in order to make transport more affordable. One wants to invest in it and make it more affordable and that can only happen where there are cities where the population has been increased. The target is that over half of the population increase in the next 20 or 25 years will happen within the cities rather than outside them, which would continue the urban sprawl. If we achieve that we can invest more in public transport, because it will be more affordable to do so and it will be more sustainable. It will also contribute to climate, air quality and proper land use. It makes sense. We are trying to do more of that but one thing cannot happen without the other. If people are disbursed all over the place in an unplanned way, one cannot service that population in an economic way. In that case, services will not be up to scratch, it is just not possible. That is what we are trying to do and I think it can be achieved. We are on the right path. The committee has a private meeting after this and there will be further discussion in weeks ahead. The plan can be added to because we are trying to make this more ambitious. We are on the right page. The Senator wants to achieve a step change in some of our approaches and I agree with that. As the country recovers, we should have the resources to do that and make bold decisions.

The Senator is right about joined-up thinking. I remember in my first months as a councillor in 1999, sitting down with the NRA which was planning a great big motorway which was to come through our county. When one would asked about the railway line, it was like referring to a different planet. The NRA would respond it was not its concern.