Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 13 September 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action

Sectoral Emissions Ceilings: Engagement with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications

Photo of Brian LeddinBrian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

This is my last question. I wish to build on Senator O'Reilly's point on the local authorities. The challenge with much of climate action, especially in housing and transport, is very much in the hands of our city and county councils. I had the pleasure of visiting the active travel unit in Limerick last Friday. It has a new office on Michael Street. I was really impressed with its plans and its understanding of the challenge. I think it will do some very good work in coming years. Limerick is one of the few local authorities which has actually managed to spend its allocation. In contrast, the local authority in Galway, where Senator Pauline O'Reilly lives, seems to be lagging behind. Just yesterday, Galway's BusConnects plan went to planning. I need to look at it more carefully but it is talking about increasing lanes for private vehicles and demolishing houses to facilitate them, albeit to facilitate bus lanes and cycle lanes as well. I am a bit troubled by that approach. Regardless of whether it is a good local authority or one that needs to catch up, there is no accounting system for carbon reduction. A director in a local authority may be doing everything very well, but who is counting how much carbon is being reduced by the various measures such as bringing in cycle networks?

I am happy to hear the Minister mention that the local authorities should have a broader role beyond reducing emissions very directly under their own control because they are indirectly responsible for so much climate action. I think it is the first time anyone in the Government has mentioned this. I would be interested to hear the Minister's further thoughts not just on local authorities but on all the agencies of State. The planning regulator is also key. Many of the city and county development plans are going through at the moment. How do we assess those or align them with our targets and be confident that they are aligned with the targets? It seems to me that there is a much greater role for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Perhaps up to now we have seen that role as being very much related to housing, social housing and retrofitting, but it may be that it has the biggest role in climate action in the State. I am interested in the Minister's thoughts on that. How can we bring the State sector with us? It is one thing for the Minister's Department to lead the charge but all Departments need to understand the challenge they have.

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