Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

After two years in government, the Minister has done nothing on this issue and has not produced a Bill. The Government has continued to duck and dive from its responsibility to respond to one of the most challenging and pressing issues for this and future generations.

Sinn Féin has set itself the task of working with people in the environmental sector to ensure that we remind the Government at every opportunity of its responsibility to the public. That is our job. The time for ifs and buts is long over. It is time for action. The Bill being introduced today is further proof, if any were needed, that the Minister is running out of excuses for his lack of a response to this important issue. He now has two Bills to focus his mind, those being, the Sinn Féin Bill and Deputy Catherine Murphy's Bill, two good Bills that, while perhaps not perfect, deserve more than political posturing. They deserve to be debated and sent to committee for further debate and, if necessary, amendment. I appeal to the Minister to work with us in the spirit of cross-party co-operation to style these Bills into legislation that set the standards for others to follow. Having heard from all parties this morning, this topic is the one matter on which there could be a consensus.

The Sinn Féin Bill contains the essentials ingredients. It contains carbon budgets, those being, five-year targets to reduce emissions, although there may be a difference in this respect between our Bill and the Bill under discussion. We maintain that carbon budgets provide a responsible tool by which to measure our progress in reaching our EU agreed limits. It is important that any climate change Bill contain carbon budgets. If we fail to include them, we will be brought to a carbon cliff, in that we will need to do everything in just a few years. Unlike the economy, there are no bailouts for the environment. No troika is waiting in the wings to bail us out from environmental bankruptcy.

The five-year carbon target reductions would ensure that current and successive Governments remained on the road to agreed carbon emissions in line with EU and international agreements. Some 20% would be cut by 2020 and 80% cut by 2050 based on 1990 emissions. If we do not have carbon budgets, Governments can simply kick the can down the road. We know where that can lead. There will be serious consequences. As we get closer to the deadlines of 2020 and 2050, drastic measures will need to be imposed to bring Ireland back into line with agreed targets. We must avoid carbon cliffs. We cannot afford to run into them.

Under our Bill, the Taoiseach would need to present carbon budgets to the Dáil every year. This would allow for scrutiny and transparency in the House.

These measures will be short and sharp. Like all such measures, they will hurt those with the least resources if we allow ourselves to hit a carbon cliff. Unsustainable measures that force households into poverty must be avoided. The reduction in carbon emissions is best managed in achievable, five-year chunks, allowing for measures to be agreed, implemented, evaluated and, importantly, improved.

Another important aspect of the Sinn Féin Bill is accountability. Our Bill requires the Taoiseach and the Minister to deliver annual reports to the Oireachtas, during which the Taoiseach would be quizzed on the Government's performance in implementing measures to deliver results in line with agreed targets. Accountability and transparency are essential if we are to work together to achieve a low carbon, sustainable society.

An expert authority independent of the Dáil would be established under our Bill. It would be a group comprising independent experts, not stakeholders. This is a key point. Stakeholders will have their own agendas. The group must be independent and science-based. Its economists, environmental scientists and sociologists would produce and publish annual reports. These would be based on evidence and scientific research and would advise the Government before it makes its decisions. The reports would inform and guide the Taoiseach in how to make progress and would advise on what further action needed to be taken to keep us on target for 2020 and 2050.

A science-based target for 2050 is essential if we are to map out what needs to occur in the long term in Ireland and internationally. Our Bill would set a reduction target of 80%, the necessary figure that has been agreed internationally. The date of 2050 would ensure that Governments did not limp from one Dáil term to another. It would ensure that each Government, regardless of party, fulfilled its obligations. We all recognise that the current Government inherited many problems when it entered office and that it has addressed some of them. but we must not allow the issue of climate change to limp along. Doing nothing is not an option.

Our Bill is comprehensive and could be the corner stone on which to base Ireland's low carbon, sustainable economic growth. However, we are debating Deputy Catherine Murphy's contribution to the debate. Sinn Féin will support her Bill and vote in its favour. I hope that those on the Government benches will do likewise. Even if it is just from an economic point of view, we cannot afford to do nothing, stand idly by or coast along. We must provide certainty to the sustainable energy sector, which will not invest in alternative energy if we do not provide for ten-year, 20-year and 30-year targets via legislation. Doing nothing would have negative economic, environmental and social impacts. We must take hold of this issue and act now. I urge the Minister to introduce the heads of his Bill as soon as possible.

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