Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Matthews is right; we have to start taking climate change far more seriously. The scale of our ambition and the level of change planned are beyond compare. The existing climate action plan includes a very ambitious switch towards electric vehicles and the use of biofuels including biodiesel. Every country in Europe is now doing this but we are faced with a challenge to go much further and transport will be a key part of this. It accounts for 20% of our emissions, which will need to decrease from 12 million tonnes to 6 million tonnes or lower. They should be heading towards zero within three decades. It is a challenge beyond compare but it will lead to a better country and economy and a more social and healthier environment. The key development, beyond the switch to EVs, biofuels and so on, will be the reduction of demand for travel and modal switches. These will be key elements in making the next reductions in carbon emissions.

That is why I keep coming back to the national planning framework. It recognises that and also recognises we need not only balanced regional development but compact development. That is why I have pushed the towns first strategy. To the best of our ability, we should make sure people are able to live within walking distance of churches, pubs, schools and shops. It is not verbotenfor someone not to live so close to amenities, but local services, including post offices, thrive in those sorts of well-designed communities in which people live within walking, cycling and bus distance. They work better. That is why the Government has shifted spending so that it is now 2:1 in favour of public transport versus roads and why, aside from that, it has set aside 20% of the capital budget for active travel, including walking. That is for rural Ireland as well.

Deputy Matthews knows more about rail than anyone here. He is right; we will have to electrify the network because we will have zero carbon emissions and no fossil fuels in 2030. We have to start thinking about how to do that. Could the network be electrified as far as south as Wicklow, in the Deputy's constituency? The benefits would include a faster, more efficient, cleaner, quieter, quicker and better train service. It should not stop there. The Deputy spoke about Limerick as an example earlier. Why would we not run commuter rail services from Limerick or beyond? We could have a service from Nenagh to Limerick.