John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)

Ireland faces a challenge equal to the greatest the country has faced since its foundation some 90 years ago. We must face it together and we must work together in the spirit of partnership that has worked so well for us previously in difficult times. We must face it collectively and that is why the Government is working towards an agreement with the social partners on tackling the public finances. The Taoiseach and the Government are prepared to allow the necessary time for an agreement to be reached, an agreement that will be in the interests of all. This is what good government and leadership is about.

The Green Party in government is playing an essential role in the sizable challenge facing Ireland at present. We have a perspective on sustainable, economic and social development, which has come of age. It is a perspective that is absolutely essential if we are to enjoy a solid economic recovery.

The green economy has been identified by leaders throughout the world, from US President Barack Obama to Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as an essential element to economic recovery. In Ireland, it is a policy the Green Party has been advocating for 20 years. More important, it is a policy we have been implementing in the past 20 months in government. This policy has already generated and sustained thousands of jobs, and will create thousands more, in every part of the country. Our vision for a green economy sees the protection and enhancement of our environment as an economic opportunity, not an economic cost.

Working towards a green economy will improve Ireland's competitiveness. The green economic outlook puts long-term gain for society ahead of short-term profit for the individual. However, it rewards and incentivises those who embrace sustainable business models.

My colleague in the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has undertaken a fundamental reform of energy policy, which will wean us off our oil dependency in the coming decades. He has set new prices for renewable energy, prompting a multi-billion euro investment by the ESB. This year he will also roll out an ambitious insulation scheme for homes throughout the country. Our Government colleagues are also working for the green economy. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey, has increased investment in public transport infrastructure by more than 60%, to €1.3 billion since the Green Party entered Government.

I am hard at work in the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for the green economy. In 2009, at a time of cutbacks, there has been a 19% increase in water services investment to €560 million. By the end of the year, some 150 separate water projects will be under way in towns and villages throughout the State. This will secure more than 4,500 badly-needed construction jobs. We we will not slow down this investment until we have a world-class water infrastructure that protects the health of our people and our environment. These facilities will provide the essential infrastructure needed to enhance the competitiveness of the country, to enable us to attract and grow enterprises and industries.

In the waste sector, I have invested more than €27 million in the most advanced recycling plant in Europe, which opened this month in Dublin. The plant ensures a free green bin collection system for every house in the Dublin area. It has created 85 jobs. Today, I signalled my intention to introduce new rules for the segregation of biodegradable waste in restaurants and commercial premises later this year. This will ensure lower waste costs for those organisations, and it will also create and sustain an entire new composting industry, generating hundreds of jobs in the coming years.

The Department and the Minister for State with responsibility for housing, Deputy Michael Finneran, have been playing a crucial role in the housing sector. In the 2009 budget, more than €1.3 billion is being provided for the main local authority and voluntary programmes, including €190 million to support ambitious programmes of regeneration of social housing in extremely disadvantaged areas. These projects, which include the Ballymun and Limerick regeneration programmes, support the development of strong, economically viable sustainable communities by addressing underlying issues of poverty, deprivation, anti-social behaviour, social and economic need.

We are also embarking on a programme to green our existing social housing stock, to make those homes more comfortable and more economical to run. A full audit of the public housing stock will begin in 2009, to lay the foundation for a programme of retrofitting, where required, to deliver modern standards of energy efficiency. In parallel with this audit, a further €5 million, which will be increased to €30 million, is being provided to undertake several pilot retrofitting projects. The learning derived from these will play a major part in informing our approach to the wider roll-out of the programme, which will commence once the audit is completed. This programme will enhance the quality of life for thousands of low income families in the coming years. It will be an example of the green economy at work.

The green economy is also at work in private homes. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and I have overseen the development of a new energy rating system, creating hundreds of new jobs and providing valuable information for homeowners, buyers and renters.

I have also embarked on one of the most ambitious reforms of our planning system to create a level playing field that favours sustainable development. I have published new guidelines on residential developments to ensure that when homes are built, they are alongside critical services such as public transport and schools. I have also produced new guidelines to prevent against opportunistic rezoning on flood plains.

I am drawing up major new planning legislation aimed at a fundamental overhaul of our planning system. It will reform how councillors go about rezoning in county development plans, and will make national planning guidelines mandatory for development plans. It will tackle the question of retention, streamline planning processes and will also reform our planning laws for ocean energy projects. A fair and transparent planning system is essential for a competitive economy. Developers willing to provide high quality, sustainable developments should have certainty that their plans are not undermined by cynical and opportunistic rezoning which have only profit and not people in mind.

In these times when hard choices must be made and ambitious plans are deferred or curtailed, it is opportune that we concentrate on what we can do individually and collectively to pull ourselves out of this recession and make the most of the opportunities and advantages we have at our disposal. If we are to optimise the resources available, there must be clear and co-ordinated prioritisation of investment in those locations with the potential to drive regional and national competitiveness and which have the capacity to grow. The national spatial strategy must remain the principal basis for this policy. This view is shared by the National Competitiveness Council and the National Economic Social Council, NESC.

There is robust analysis of the challenges and priorities for the gateway cities and towns and this analysis has contributed to the formulation of the national development plan. Given the significant economic and social change in the past six or seven years and the uncertain short-term and medium-term future, my Department is undertaking an update and refreshing of the national spatial strategy to assess where we are and, perhaps more crucially, to where we are heading. It is not a fundamental review or overhaul. Rather, the focus will be on how the strategy is being implemented and how it is realising the key objective to harness the development potential of all the regions. I intend to bring forward our initial analysis to Government in the coming weeks with a view to developing precise proposals on how this analysis can be used to prioritise the unlocking of these areas within what resources are available at central and local levels.

The Green Party is hard at work creating a green economy for the benefit of all people in the country and we will go further in that regard. The Green Party in government will ensure that investment will be increased, not decreased this year. The Government will also develop an ambitious green economy master-plan to attract green technology jobs and investment into Ireland, and to support green technology innovation in the economy.

Of course, the Green Party does not have a monopoly on sound economic ideas. The economic challenge we face requires the efforts of every Member of the House. Since the Dáil returned, I have seen and heard Opposition Deputies vent and emote about the current economic situation rather than offer constructive debate or criticism. However, I would rather hear ideas and solutions than the negative rhetoric of opposition. I wish to hear from Fine Gael what measures it will take to ensure its local councillors do not engage in reckless rezoning, which damages the local economy for the benefit of a small number of landowners and developers. I wish to hear realistic proposals on public spending from the main Opposition party, rather than proposals that would shave a mere €80 million off the public sector wage bill. I listened to Deputy Coveney in that regard.

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