Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and his comments and the extent to which he has been dealing with this issue since his recent appointment. At the outset, I want to put on the record my genuine disappointment at the lack of other ministerial representation here. It is not a comment on the quality or abilities of the junior Ministers. It says a lot about what other Ministers see as their responsibility in terms of their Departments when they cannot show respect for the issue, let alone the House, by being present. For far too long, the issue of climate change has been foisted on the shoulders of the Minister and Department responsible rather than all Ministers treating it with the level of importance with which it must be treated if we are to have any meaningful impact on reducing our emissions, maintaining temperatures at the desired level and addressing the commitments the Government has already entered into. The real failure of a joined-up Government approach is evident here. Notwithstanding the Minister's interest and effort, I feel the failure to have senior Ministers here speaks to that issue in a very strong way. I could understand how one or two Ministers of State might have to represent a Minister but it was known for a while that this debate would be held here today. It really is an appalling vista that all of the other Departments just sent their junior person in with a script. It does not indicate that the Government has finally got to grips with the subject. I have sympathy for the Minister. If there is a way of communicating back from this House, it is incumbent on the Taoiseach to pull his Cabinet together. When he became Taoiseach, he said that climate change would be the biggest issue for him. He has recently said that broadband would be a priority as well so it seems that whatever the issue of the day is will be a personal crusade for him but we need more than words. We need action and buy-in from other Departments.

I have listened to the Minister since his appointment and get a real sense that he gets it, that he understands and is committed to addressing this issue. It has been the same in any Department in which he has worked. He remains committed but this issue will not be resolved on the shoulders of one committed Minister and the words of a Taoiseach every now and again when he is faced with a question. It requires action. Even the scripts that were read into the record today by Ministers of State do not give me any real hope. There is talk of what we have done and might do - almost taking credit for where we are. We are in an appalling position. In fairness, the Minister has identified that.

I will dwell on some of the comments made by Ministers in the past week as they relate to climate change. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport was quoted as saying that the continued delivery of diesel buses was very regrettable. He sent his junior Minister in here today to tell us that they will continue to buy diesel buses up to the middle of next year. That does not bode well for where we are trying to go. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Climate Action this week that we have not succeeded in breaking the link between economic progress and emissions in the industry, agricultural and transport sectors and that by 2020, the year by which we have a target to reduce emissions to 20%, we will only have reduced emissions by 1%. To me, these words were a sign that the Minister got it. I welcome these frank admissions and believe they are appropriate. However, we are past the point where Ministers can be communicators or bemoan the lack of progress. To quote Joseph Curtin from the Institute of International and European Affairs, "we don't need more analysis, we need leadership." The Ministers are responsible for driving that change. If today's presentations tell us anything, it is that we are back to the case of them being followers of the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, which does not speak well for what we need to do in the coming months.

With a few exceptions, all of us in this House have become exceedingly good at talking the talk with regard to climate change. The narrative put forward is that we will do it better in the future but we are running out of time because the future is upon us. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has been clear. The report finds that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees would require rapid and far-reaching transitions in land, energy, industry, buildings, transport and cities. This action needs to be taken within 12 years. There is a narrow window in which this must happen and I do not get the impression that the Government as a whole has any sense of direction in that regard. It requires us meeting our targets; we have discussed the failure to meet 2020 targets ad nauseumand indeed have acknowledged that we cannot have this same discussion a decade from now. I would argue that we cannot have this discussion this time next year. We need to see significant actions taken during that period of time.

This means that the policies and legislation for the step change which needs to take place is required immediately. There is a false economy in the prospect of putting off these measures. Short-term compliance costs to try to close the gap are now likely to be in excess of €100 million. Ireland is also exposed to significant fines post-2020 and the purchase costs associated with the purchase of the credits and beyond. This would be far better invested in meeting targets than paying the cost for the failure to invest.

A number of actions should be taken next year to put Ireland on the correct trajectory. The development of a competing plan, as announced by the Minister, is a cause for some concern. It is important that this does not interfere with or supersede the report of the all-party committee. I hope the Minister will make a commitment today that this will not take place and the recommendations of the committee will be implemented as a priority in any future plans developed by Departments.

On the legislation which underpins today's statements, there is significant room for improvement. I produced the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Emissions Targets) 2018 Bill, which sets specific targets. Having listened to the Minister's comments on my legislation, I am prepared to work with him to set binding targets in domestic legislation that will advance matters.

What occurred in budget 2020 on carbon tax was deeply disappointing. We want any moneys raised through future carbon taxes to be used for the decarbonisation of the economy, rather than being allowed to fall into the black hole of the Exchequer.

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