Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputy Pringle and welcome the Bill very warmly. That is probably a bit of a pun in this context but it is a hugely warmly welcomed Bill. The rationale is to send a clear signal that the phasing out of fossil fuels must be speeded up. Keeping fossil fuels in the ground is absolutely key. At this stage there is hardly anybody, apart from Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae and Donald Trump, who denies the science on climate change. I am hearing here that everyone else accepts the absolute science on climate change. Even the Taoiseach has said it is the greatest challenge facing humanity currently. If it is the greatest challenge facing humanity, this is the first step in taking that challenge head-on.

The other thing that is significant about it is the Taoiseach, the same man, has also said that Ireland is a laggard when it comes to dealing with our fossil fuel emissions, our CO2 emissions and our targets under the Paris Agreement. That is also true. If we are a laggard, we can now potentially become a leader. In the few minutes I have, I will ask the Government and the Taoiseach to be absolutely consistent and committed to this agenda because it should be at the heart of the work of every Department and for that we need joined-up thinking. That means that when a Bill is being considered, for example, the Heritage Bill that was passed the other night, it should be climate change proofed. I do not think that happened with that Bill. It was a disaster that the Bill passed. When we are looking at transport measures, they have to be climate change proofed. That means a huge investment in public transport and restoring the subvention to public transport not to in full but beyond that to the levels it was at in 2009. It means really aiming to take cars and trucks off the road. It would be a massive contribution to dealing with our emissions. The other obvious thing, which the Government is making some attempt to do but it is not quick enough and it is not sufficient, is to retrofit every home and building in the country so we have no need to burn as much gas and oil as we do to stay warm in the extreme cold of winter or to use other forms of electricity to keep cool in the extreme heat we are experiencing in the summer.

They are agendas on which we need joined-up thinking throughout Government, Cabinet and every Department and I appeal to the Government and the Taoiseach to change their minds about the approach to the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill 2018, which I have put before the House. The purpose of that Bill is to try to end the extraction of all fossil fuels at sea and to challenge the oil and gas industry by telling it to leave it in the ground and that there is no need for us to take any more fossil fuels from the ground. I am not saying to turn off the lights tomorrow but let us take a serious, consistent, deliberate and decisive step in transitioning from our over-dependence on fossil fuels. We are like addicts. We are told it is dangerous and it is killing us but we will not give it up. If we continue to do that we will be on the cusp of losing an opportunity. Nature does not lie to us. Physics does not lie to us. We have to listen to nature and the science and begin to act deliberately and decisively. I appeal to the Government in the next term to reconsider its position on the Petroleum and Other Minerals Development (Amendment) (Climate Emergency Measures) Bill I have put before the Dáil. The fossil fuel industry is very powerful. The oil and gas industry has done a lot of lobbying and has a lot of influence. We need to challenge it and say enough is enough. We can use up what has already been extracted as we transition to full renewable energy but it should not take another drop of oil or gas out of our shores. It would also contribute to what Deputy Pringle has started, which is to put Ireland, along with other countries such as New Zealand, Costa Rica, France and Belize, in a movement that is beginning to wake up, smell the coffee and deal with climate change decisively and immediately. We do not get a second bite of the cherry.

I thank Deputy Pringle for all the work he has done.

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