Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will stand, as our witnesses stood when they were speaking. We sat the last time we had young people in with us. I must say that today has been just as insightful as that meeting was. I was really taken by the fact that so many of our witnesses said they feel let down by politicians and the system and by the choices that are made. There is no doubt but that we are going to need radical change. Many of the choices we make around public transport and how to get to where we are going on holidays are made because we are so time-poor in this world in which we seem to have every gadget to save time, but we are still rushing around like our heads have been cut off. Senator Boylan spoke earlier about fast fashion costing the earth. It absolutely does. Our witnesses have probably heard about the toxic clothes mountain in Peru, where the chemicals are leaking down into the water table, and how that is affecting ordinary people there. The choices that we make here can cause devastation in other places.

I note a few of the young people here today are from different socioeconomic backgrounds, which is important. We were talking about diversity yesterday at a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Gender Equality. I said that it is not just about making sure that different genders are represented; it is about making sure that we have people from different incomes when we are making choices. This is because poverty costs a fortune. Some of our guests were talking about extending the life cycle of products and how important that is in the circular economy as well. It is important but generally, people who are on lower incomes cannot afford to buy the good things, such as high-quality clothing. I remember being delighted that a cousin of mine gave me a bag of clothes for the baby who was coming up, and they generally lasted. If people are forced to buy cheaper clothes, they are not of a similar quality. They will be heading to that toxic clothes mountain in Peru sooner and will be added to the pile. We have also discussed energy costs recently. The Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and other groups have attended committee meetings. We have talked about people who are on prepay meters, who pay a higher premium for energy. Many people might not be aware that prepay customers actually pay a higher premium for every unit of electricity they use. There is no risk to the provider. These people should be getting discounted electricity and not paying a premium rate. The provider is guaranteed that the biggest loss it can make might be €5 or €10, whereas a customer on a bill-paying account with a large family could owe up to €1,000 over a two-month period. The people on the prepay meters are paying a higher rate with no risk to the provider and face disconnection, whereas people on bill-pay accounts do not. Poverty costs a fortune. People on low incomes also need to take out loans if they need to replace electrical appliances such as a washing machine, because the energy-efficient appliances are generally more expensive. They cannot take advantage of the deals in the shops in the Christmas sales. Even good-quality school uniforms are expensive. The woollen jumpers with the school crest on them are very expensive but you can get three years out of them. Parents will end up spending more money if they buy the cheaper jumpers from low-cost shops. People on lower incomes are paying more all the time and it is costing them a fortune, whereas wealthier families can afford to buy good-quality products that last longer.

Some of the witnesses mentioned recycling and the messaging around it. The messaging is not right on it. We could talk about messaging on saving energy as well. A lot of people have been told to wait until night time to put on their washing machines, dishwashers and dryers. I took a fierce beating on Twitter a few weeks ago when I mentioned that. All the centrist dads were very upset with me making that point. People should not be going to bed with electric appliances left on that create a lot of heat. They could use their appliances at 9 p.m. and still take advantage of the off-peak prices. Messaging on recycling is also very important. I think recycling should be free.

Peaceful protest is something that you must get active in. We have had two years of being indoors and not being able to gather together. It is a great feeling to be back out there protesting and getting our voices heard. I urge young people not to be afraid to do that.

Some of our guests mentioned public transport. I mentioned earlier that we are time-poor. That is one of the reasons why many people use the car rather than walking or getting the bus. We love lower fares and they really help in urban areas. Many of our guests have come from rural areas and I am bogged down about complaints about public transport and Go-Ahead, which has got a private contract from Bus Éireann. We cannot be relying on private companies to deliver public services. I hope Go-Ahead does not get the contract again. It would save me reading a lot of emails.

Retrofitting is another issue that has been raised. The Bill has been passed. It is great because it will reduce our carbon emissions but we have to make a difference for people who cannot afford to make the right choices. Cheaper retrofitting is available. We mentioned attic conversions earlier on. That is a really cheap way of retrofitting homes that everybody can take advantage of. We should be using our money more carefully. When I am asked where the magic money tree is, I always say that if we clean up a bit around here and stop wasting money, we will find plenty of money in order that retrofitting can be made accessible to people on medium and lower incomes. There was also the issue with solid-fuel homes. We had the chaos around turf cutters six months ago. I come from County Kildare and there are a lot of bogs in my area. I believe our bogs are as important to the world as the Amazon rainforest, but yet we are too stingy to help people who are reliant on turf to heat their homes with retrofitting and save our bogs in the process. It is absolutely appalling. There is no way we are going to get through this by continuing with the current economic model because it relies on the constant extraction of the Earth's resources. There is only so much the Earth can take. Sorry, I am talking too much. It is something that I am very passionate about.