Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 28 May 2024
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action
Finalisation of Draft National Energy and Climate Plan and the National Long-Term Strategy: Discussion
Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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The next government will also have a role in this, and we must have continuity. Meeting our climate ambition will require several governments in a row to give the issue complete focus, attention and priority in funding, staffing and other resources. The climate action plan was only approved in Cabinet last week. It recognises that the closing of the gap must be a part of the 2026 climate action plan. We will have to decide those measures in the first quarter of next year and I expect the central question in any programme for Government negotiations to be how each of the parties will approach the issue. I do not know what position is taken by Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil, the Social Democrats or Fine Gael, which are the four parties represented at this meeting. Do we agree that we should continue with what this Government has put in place, that we set 10% of the transport budget for active travel and for the rest of the budget, take a 2:1 ratio in favour of public transport over roads? Is that agreed? That is the sort of detail that will have to go into the programme for Government, which will have to be agreed by March next year. That is the time at which we will have to conclude negotiations about how we reallocate-----