Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 8 March 2022
Select Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment
Estimates for Public Services 2022
Vote 29 - Environment, Climate and Communications (Supplementary)
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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I agree, not only there but also with modular housing and in other areas. We need to act in education. How will we deal with some of the people coming in? I agree with the Chairman about sustainable mobility. Where that worked during the Covid pandemic was through the local authorities. This must be something that comes from the bottom up. We need to be really flexible and fast but we cannot ignore local authorities bearing in mind their interest and knowledge of how we do that. I agree that we should be looking at fast-tracking and accelerating, but it also needs to come from the bottom up. I will have a meeting with representatives from Limerick City and County Council this Friday and that is the message I will give them. I will ask them if they are up for it and what we could do if we were really thinking outside the box. The benefit of that is not just in reducing usage of fossil fuels and taking on Mr. Putin at the pump, as it were; it is also helping us with a better environment and better climate, and making it a more attractive place for everyone to live. It cannot be forced; it also needs to come from the bottom up.