Timmy Dooley (Fianna Fail)
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I get that completely. My comments are not in any way meant to be derogatory or overly critical. It is just that we on this side of the table have to balance issues. I am sure the broadcasters have to do so as well. This is a question of how to bring people with us. We banned smoking in offices, entertainment venues and so on to protect the health of the workers. People still smoke, drink, take drugs, do things that are injurious to their health and die. We will all die. What we have to do in a measured way is try to ensure that, in our response to the climate crisis, we bring people along with us on the journey. I have been in the Oireachtas for quite some time and have generally seen a major shift in the attitudes of politicians to climate change. At one stage, it was still acceptable to reflect on a bygone era and there was electoral support for that, but when we meet younger voters now, it is clear that they get it. Indeed, they get it in a different way than I might have as a child growing up.

We are getting there and the Government has committed to significant 2030 and 2050 climate targets, in which transportation will play a significant part. Considerable investment is being made in public transport. When I sat on the Opposition benches, I managed to convince my party to sign up to a carbon tax. Politically, that was probably not the smartest thing for an Opposition that was trying to win an election to do, but we did it anyway. People get the issue now. There are still some political parties that suggest we should not have a carbon tax. As the witnesses know, that tax was introduced with a gradual increase over time in mind, so it made a clear statement to people who purchased cars that were heavier and used larger amounts of fossil fuels that they would be paying more over time regardless of what the international markets said about the price of fuel.

Deputy Bruton would have experienced from his perspective in government at the time. We have come a long way but we have a big journey. The work across the media generally, not just in RTÉ but in print, other broadcast media and even at local radio level is welcome but it is proportionate and step-phased. We should encourage that and I am also conscious that we have to fund it. We have made some changes in that regard but there is still a long way to go. It does not generate huge amount of investment, unfortunately.