Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

With respect, the report today from the EPA would suggest there is a huge gulf between the Government's words and the Government's action when it comes to climate change. It appears to me that the Government has reached a crossroads. It can accept the fact that, without a major turnaround in policy, we will not meet our emissions targets, which needless to say, for the sake of our children and grandchildren, is a road which should never be travelled, but in which case, for prudent fiscal responsibility and sustainability, the Minister's Department needs to provide a comprehensive plan as to how he will account for the money for significant fines imposed on the State for not meeting these targets. Alternatively, the Government needs a paradigm shift in how it thinks about sustainability. Environmental sustainability must not be confined only to the Department of the Minister, Deputy Naughten. Our public expenditure needs to be on sustainable infrastructure, for example, on the six cycleways proposed for Dublin instead of 1,500 km of roads, as IBEC has proposed. We are on a continuous upward trajectory on emissions, when we really need to be going in the opposite direction. Which will it be? Will we hit our targets or will we not? Does the Minister have an expenditure plan for either scenario?

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