Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

There is no doubt any more in anybody’s mind as to where we need to get to. Although we are targeting the transport sector here to reduce emissions, the fact is that we must also consider the impact of climate change on our transport systems themselves. One can look at Ballycar in the Chairman’s own neck of the woods, where flooding closes the rail line down. It is something that has happened over the past 100 years but the intensity and rate with which it is happening now is increasing. We also need to look at the coastal defence works that are needed along the east coast to protect rail lines, as well as at the drought and heatwaves in which roads were melting back in 2016 or whatever year that was. There are significant impacts on our transport system from climate change and it is almost protecting its own function by addressing the emissions which come from transport. I thank the Chairman.