Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Thursday, 10 October 2019
Public Accounts Committee
2018 Financial Statements of the National Transport Authority
9:00 am
David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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Something struck me when Ms Graham referred to demand. I presume the modes of transport are based on demand. However, if one is looking at it through the lens of climate action, it is not just demand. Some people might see the car as king, but from an environmental perspective we may have to take measures not just to encourage people to get out of cars but also, perhaps, to go a step further than that. It is not just about demand. We are not going to decrease our carbon emissions and reach our climate targets under the Paris Agreement if we do not reduce the number of cars on the road. The only way we can do that is by having other modes of transport available to people. Looking at it solely from the point of view of demand will not get us to where we need to be.