Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

We probably do. It is a total tyranny. We must change the way we think, and to do this we need to have radical new policies.

Improving the energy efficiency of new vehicles must be our top priority. We must regularly test all vehicles and their components for efficiency, considering things such as tyres, alternators, lights and electrical systems. I read recently that research in America found that if people did not drive the way they currently drive, which is often aggressively, they would save up to 33% on fuel. By aggressive driving I mean driving fast, braking sharply and driving without due care and attention. We need to change the way we think about driving. There is a need for the Government to consider more efficient, more effective driving. Information on how to reduce one's CO2 emissions, conserve energy and drive more safely and efficiently should be part of the rules of the road and part of the school curriculum.

I welcome the Government's proposals for electrical vehicles announced yesterday. The targets are pretty low — we are talking about 10% of vehicles being electric within a certain number of years. Fine Gael policy is very clear in this regard. We would like to see a much bigger commitment — a more focused change, particularly moving towards cars that use electricity to charge — and the provision of proper and efficient locations for car charging throughout the country. That is the way forward. We should increase vehicle fuel efficiency standards by regularly testing the fuel efficiency of HGVs. This is very important. I do not think we test our HGVs enough. We must promote and support the use of new fuels such as bio-diesel, bioethanol and hydrogen. To take some of these HGVs off the road, we should be promoting rail freight. Recently the Joint Committee on Transport met with the Irish Exporters Association and its representatives made the case for a new policy to encourage rail freight. This could perhaps be considered again in the Department of Transport.

Of all the people driving in the morning between 7 o'clock and 9 o'clock, if we could take out all the people who are bringing their children to school, this would have an important effect in reducing the total volume of traffic. We need to have as many as possible of those children out of their cars and walking to school, perhaps in a walking bus. I commend An Taisce for its constructive proposals and the green schools programme. The second module of this deals with transport. This is receiving Government support, but not enough. We need to tackle that again. We ought to consider rewarding schools that have a transport plan. Perhaps the Minister for Education and Science would consider this. Many schools in urban areas, including the school I taught in years ago, have more than 1,200 students, a significant number of whom arrive by bus but also many by car. I am not necessarily talking about a cash reward. I do not think one would pass a primary school in the country that did not have a green flag outside. There could be an award for the school with the best transport plan in every county.

In addition, we need true local government on the ground. The Government is talking about funding local Government. I believe strongly that each local authority should have a person who is skilled and knowledgeable in the areas of climate change, transport policy and so on, who would have a proactive role of advice and assistance in the community. He or she would go to schools and ask the principals and teachers about their transport plan and how they can reduce emissions, or to factories and ask about their transport plans, although, regrettably, more and more people are losing their jobs. He or she could constructively consider hospitals, State and semi-state bodies and drive the agenda for change locally. A big part of the agenda for change is missing. We have all read research papers and national policy documents. Nobody is driving that policy at local level. No one has been given responsibility for developing links between those ideas and local communities on the ground. I accept that there are energy committees in counties Tipperary, Limerick and Clare. A good regional climate change policy has been agreed in counties Clare and Limerick. That is the sort of thinking we need. It is not evident at present. It would make a big difference.

I wish to speak about the need to get people out of their cars and into public transport. One of the big problems in Dublin city is that people do not have enough choice. If they are unable to avail of bus services, they have no choice other than to travel in their cars. One of the strategies outlined in the Finance Bill involved the introduction of a car parking levy. It might not sound like much to be required to pay an annual fee of €200 to park one's car at one's place of work. Many people who travel to Dublin from rural areas each day do not have the option of using public transport. Dublin does not have strategically placed "park and ride" facilities. Such facilities, each of which should be capable of accommodating between 2,000 and 3,000 cars, need to be developed on the approach roads to the city of Dublin in counties Wicklow, Kildare, Meath and Louth. Commuters from such areas should be able to park their cars in "park and ride" facilities and continue their journeys to Dublin on public transport. The Joint Committee on Transport has discussed this issue with the county managers of the counties in question. They will get back to the committee with a plan. The Government should have ensured that people had option of using a "park and ride" public transport service before it introduced the new €200 levy. That would have made an important contribution to achieving this country's goal of reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Fine Gael believes that the bus market should be much more open. Consumers do not care what colour buses are as long as they come on time. The Government's present policies make it a prisoner of Dublin Bus and the unions. The bus market has not been opened up in a constructive manner, as promised over the past ten or 15 years by successive transport Ministers in Fianna Fáil-led Administrations. In fairness to the late Séamus Brennan, he tried to open 25% of the bus market to competition. His successor, the Minister, Deputy Cullen, reduced that percentage, however. The current Minister for Transport, Deputy Dempsey, has said he will do something but he has not introduced legislation to that end. The Government has not shown any commitment to increasing the availability of buses, particularly private enterprise buses. I do not suggest that private buses should compete on the same routes as public buses. Private bus companies should be able to tender to operate new bus routes and existing bus routes. They should be allowed to put buses on the road, compete and provide choice to consumers. The sad fact is that private buses that were operating from Lucan and nearby places in County Kildare are now off the road. They are literally not on the road any more. They are of no use because Government policy has led to them being wrapped up in cellophane.

The Minister for Transport should be actively encouraging the private sector to talk to Dublin Bus. Many more consumers, passengers and commuters could be served if the public and private sectors were to work together. They do not appear to be bridging the gap that exists. When I discussed this issue with the chief executive of Dublin Bus recently, he more or less said that it is a matter for the Dublin Transport Authority. I do not think that is good enough. A sea change in thinking is needed at leadership level in Dublin Bus and, to a lesser extent, Bus Éireann. There seems to be an absolute block on the equal and fair opening of the market. If that were to be resolved, the people would be given much more choice.

I would like to highlight the issue of transport planning. If we had planned this country properly, workers would not have to commute such long distances. Some people come to the city of Dublin each day from Portlaoise and Wexford. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle has a role to play in that regard. We need to plan much better. There needs to be a link between our spatial strategy planning and our transport needs. That is not happening at the moment. People are not living where the national spatial strategy says they should be living. They are all living on the east coast. More and more people are living in the communities that surround the city of Dublin. That is placing increasing stress on the transport infrastructure there. They are not going to go away. They will continue to live there. We have to plan for the people who are living in such towns. A fundamental change is needed in the spatial strategy. We need to re-examine where people are actually living. I refer to places like the North-South corridor. There has been a phenomenal growth in the population of that area. While the national spatial strategy contains some good ideas, it is not working. A radical re-evaluation of the strategy is needed. Fine Gael intends to consider that issue.

The moneys that will accrue from the changes being made in this legislation will be added to the local government fund. The absence of elected members of local authorities from the Dáil and the Seanad is having a negative effect. The expertise we used to have is no longer available to us. We need to reconsider how local government budgets are approved and how chief executives are appointed. I respect all the county managers and officials in the system. There is no cross-fertilisation of ideas. We need to attract more business people to get involved in local government at senior level, perhaps on two-year or three-year contracts. If they get involved, they will be able to tell us how they would change the system to make it more efficient. Business people need to be involved in the initial stages of drawing up budgets, especially as it is the business community that will have to meet the expense associated with the increases that are being imposed, regrettably, by some local authorities. Their expertise is crucial because they will pay the price, in effect, at the end of the day.

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