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

I might give an alternative perspective on dredging. Another approach to flood management is the catchment approach, whereby the land is managed in a different way upriver so there is no run-off into the river and the fast-flowing deeper channel to get the water out is not needed. In essence, the upriver catchment holds the water. The Dutch are very good at that and we certainly can learn from them.

I have a few questions for Mr. Murphy. There was a very interesting discussion during his response to Deputy Bruton on targets and adjusting targets or policies. He referenced Ireland and mentioned we are on course for a 29% reduction in emissions by 2030, based on 2018 levels. My view is that in itself is quite phenomenal because it is a short timeframe. The European trajectory is from 1990 to 2030, as opposed to 2018 to 2030. Having said that, it is not the 51% that we have set ourselves as a target. It is an incredibly ambitious target and we are learning how difficult it is to achieve it. It is still appropriate that we have the ambitious target. We are becoming more innovative. The system is evolving and morphing to meet that very significant challenge. The EPA would acknowledge that the 29% is pretty much where Ireland is going but there is an uncertainty piece that might take us much closer to the 51% if things go our way. This Oireachtas passed the climate legislation by a bigger margin than any legislation that ever went through and it is very positive that Ireland, politically, is very bought-in to the need for climate action. One of the really innovative pieces is the climate action plan, which can be revised annually. It is very much about changing the policies and adjusting. We regularly invite Ministers to appear at our Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action and hold them to account for the success or failure of their programmes. We are starting to see that work. No Minister wants to be brought before a committee to explain why he or she could not succeed. We will see in the years ahead if the mechanism that is in the climate plan, this iterative approach, gets us to the 51% target by 2030, notwithstanding how difficult it is to achieve.

One area Mr. Murphy touched on, and I would not suggest this will do much of the heavy lifting in terms of emissions but it is relevant to a lot of his areas of interest, is the active travel piece and moving from a car-oriented or car-dominated transport system, which a lot of countries and cities have, to one that is less so. A lot of the commentary on transport and solutions in transport is on electric vehicles. They have a very important role to play but in urban environments in particular, where journeys are quite short, we should be able to transition a lot of those journeys over to walking, cycling and public transport. Of course, there is the co-benefit of improving localised and other pollution, notwithstanding displacing carbon emissions.

There is the challenge of safety as well. Road safety is a big part of Mr. Murphy's remit and he has produced a report on that area. More people are moving into the active travel modes of walking and cycling but until there is a critical mass of them the road safety issue is more pertinent because in a lot of instances people will be travelling on roads that do not have infrastructure. It is not just true in Ireland. Right across Europe there is a general move towards promoting active travel and building infrastructure but we cannot do it overnight. We can see really good progress in this country and in other countries as well. My view is that the potential of active travel to displace transport-related carbon emissions is probably underestimated and, as a result, there is less of an impetus and urgency to develop this infrastructure. Is this something the European Court of Auditors has looked at in any great detail? I know the OECD did an excellent report relating to Ireland's challenge. It was published approximately two years ago. The report stated Ireland will not meet its climate reduction targets if we to stick with the car-based system. We really have to move away from that and go for public transport and active travel as much as possible. Does Mr. Murphy have much to say on that area?