Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----to power our electricity system. The phasing out of peat subsidies is under way. Peat is a very dirty fuel and burning that contributes considerably to climate change. We are also going to see real, substantial investment in transport now that we can afford to do it, with things like the electrification of more of the commuter rail network around Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Louth in particular reducing emissions. People have seen the plans for ambitious projects such as MetroLink and BusConnects in Dublin, Cork and Galway, and the impact that will have on climate change by reducing bus times by half. Many more people will get out of their cars and use public transport. Those are the kinds of things the Government is doing.

We have fallen behind for a number of reasons. The economic crisis which was inflicted on this country meant that we did not have the money that we needed to invest in infrastructure. The fact that our economy has recovered so fast has led to a rise in emissions. Now that we have a plan and the resources to do it, we can make some meaningful progress in the period ahead and I intend to make sure that happens.

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