Clare Daly (Dublin North, United Left) | Oireachtas source

It is clear the Government has not taken on board the scale of the crisis. To achieve the target set in Paris, there would have to be a near complete decarbonisation of the world economy with a wholesale shift away from fossil fuels to renewable sources. I welcome the fact that there will be more green buses. That will be great and I compliment the Minister on that but the problem is that public transport fares have increased by 60% and, therefore, it has become less attractive to people. We might have cleaner buses but instead of people using them, they are being forced into their cars. Dublin Bus is reliant on circuitous routes that transport people all around north County Dublin before, for example, bringing them into town, which does not make the service attractive. When Iarnród Éireann publishes a timetable that does not service key urban areas such as Donabate at peak times, people from those areas do not have an opportunity to get home by rail from the city centre, which means fewer people on trains. While I accept there has been more investment, everything needs to be stood on its head. A total of 60% of the capital investment plan for transport published in September will go on the road network. If we are to tackle climate change, that has to be move in the opposite direction.

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