Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The question summarises the tensions that are there in the work we need to do. For example, we need to build more infrastructure. Even the supply and construction of infrastructure that has the potential to reduce carbon emissions has a carbon impact. We have the obvious trade-off between the need to support a growing population, and what that means for our economy and the delivery of more infrastructure, with our legal obligation to reduce our carbon emissions by 51% by 2030.

If I was to pick out three strands that I believe would be important to achieve this in the times ahead, the first would be to identify the continued importance of a credible, predictable and unchanging carbon tax regime. It is of incredible importance that we have a separate stream of tax revenue that, in particular in the Estimates process, is, in effect, ring-fenced to deal with how we can alleviate the trade-off the Chair mentioned. The fact that that is worth around €800 million in expenditure already, despite the fact that it has only been in place for a relatively short number of years, provides an indication of what this could be in the future and how we can make even smarter decisions in respect of our tax stream in the future to deal with some of the trade-offs. We have very valuable learnings from that already regarding how we have managed to protect the living standards of those who have the least in our country as we have changed carbon taxes and dealt with an incredible inflation shock that we could not have predicted we began this work.

The second element would be the medium-term impact of the new climate infrastructure fund that we have in place from 2026 onwards. While it is at a very early stage - as the committee knows the legislation for it has not even been brought to the Oireachtas - the effect of that fund in respect of protecting investment from the inevitable economic cycle and, if needs be, prioritising further green investment, is something that in the latter half of this decade will have a particular value.

Third, I will emphasise the value of the national broadband plan. We are still underestimating the transformative effects of what it will bring to our country, what it will mean for the allocation of existing and new enterprises way outside of our cities and copper-fastening our regional objectives. In particular, the development of capital is based more and more on its intellectual value. The fact that Ireland will have an extraordinary competitive edge in the availability of high-speed broadband later on this century is a value we could still potentially be underestimating. They are the three things I would call out to try to manage the trade-off between economic growth to support a growing population and trying to avoid making people poorer and the imperative that we have, in a few short years, to accelerate the progress that I believe we are already making.