Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

First, I want to acknowledge that there is a recognition by Government that we have of a climate emergency. We have a huge challenge, however, and it is unfortunate that this State is only getting to grips with its responsibilities from a position of being a laggard compared to our European partners. I welcome the move to put in sectoral targets, which Sinn Féin has long sought, but we must remember that we are starting on the back-foot here. This State's responsibilities have to be all-island because greenhouse gas emissions and pollution do not recognise borders.

While many may be inclined to feel hopeful about the aspiration of the plan, it is important people understand that we will fail spectacularly to meet our 20% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020. Current predictions indicate that we are on course for an actual increase by then. The taxpayer will bear the burden of the onerous fines that this will accrue for past behaviours and we have no choice about that.

Even if, in theory, all of the measures proposed in this plan could be achieved and we attain a 2% per annum reduction by 2030, we will still be 10% behind, and the taxpayer will face fines of €7 billion. The Minister wants people to believe that we will be able to achieve an increased target by 2050 of on average 3% per annum. There is no evidence in the plan that this could be achieved. Our first big challenge is to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels for electricity production and to improve our energy security. The 70% target for renewables use is underwhelming and Sinn Féin has quantified that 80% can be produced from renewables, and that is achievable. The plan also fails to identify where the remaining 30% can be sourced, if fossil fuels are to be eliminated from the mix. This is a critical question in terms of current and future demands for power.

I want to address some other shortcomings which concern ordinary citizens. There are big targets for a switchover to almost 1 million electric vehicles, EVs, by 2030. The purchase of these is far beyond the affordability of most households. There is no indication as to how the extra electricity demand will be met and what percentage of that electricity will be produced by fossil fuels. I would also be concerned about proposals for the scrappage scheme without any analysis of the environmental cost of scrapping perfectly functioning vehicles that have low emissions in favour of new cars.

I also have concern about the consequent job losses in the car maintenance sector. I put it to the Minister that the Government simply cannot announce a policy that renders car mechanics and thousands of people in the motor trade obsolete without putting in place a very clear intervention plan which retrains these workers to work on electric vehicles and in other technologies.

The plan does not provide for a fair transition for these workers. Like many others, I do not want the whole debate to become a reductive discussion on carbon tax, a tactic which sections of the media seem determined to pursue. Having said that, the Government must be compelled to demonstrate clear evidence of the correlation between carbon tax and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The fact of the matter is that no such evidence exists. We have already collected €3.35 billion in carbon taxes but successive Governments have refused to ring-fence this money for climate mitigation measures. Before we start talking about increases, the existing carbon tax should be ring-fenced.

Similarly, there is a significant focus on home energy incentive schemes. According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, and Tipperary Energy Agency, the cost of a deep retrofit ranges from €30,000 to €75,000 or more. This is, in effect, a second mortgage on a home. The Taoiseach talks about heat pumps as if they were simply a replacement for an oil or gas boiler. The cost of a top-of-the-range replacement boiler averages around €3,000, whereas the cost of a heat pump starts at €8,000 and could average €12,000. The Taoiseach also fails to mention that heat pumps do not work in single glazed or poorly insulated homes. This will rule out hundreds of thousands of dwellings across the country. While the introduction of these technologies into new builds is welcome, and we fully support that, the aspirations for wholescale deep retrofits do not appear to be viable, sustainable or economically affordable. In terms of a just transition for workers, the plan also fails to specify a pathway for the 3,000 plus registered gas boiler technicians. What will happen to them? Will they be trained in new green technologies?

Not surprisingly, the Government has failed to grasp the nettle on agriculture, which accounts for 33% of our greenhouse gas emissions. We are all committed to protecting Irish agriculture and our food security and food industry, but this sector, like every other sector, must be compelled to make significant changes. It would not be honest of us to say that the industry does not have to change. Its current path is not economically sustainable. It is also disappointing to note that proposals for afforestation fail to distinguish between good and bad forestry. There are no incentives to encourage broadleaf, continuous cover afforestation or to discourage the destructive monoculture plantations that we have.

On transport, the plan falls short on changes which are attainable and implementable. Six out of ten primary school children travel to school by car and only one out of ten travels by bus. However the action plan has no provision for improving school transport. Proposals to introduce hybrid vehicles into the rolling stock of public transport do not acknowledge the fact that hundreds of diesel buses are on order. Lest it be said that Sinn Féin is short on solutions, I should point out that we have put forward eight environmental Bills and proposed policies for more sustainable industry and development. Unfortunately, these have either been delayed, obstructed or voted down. We have moved Bills to address waste reduction, forestry, planning, local authority climate obligations, inland fisheries, water pollution, wind turbine regulation, extreme weather events and microgeneration. I am asking this House to commit to supporting the outstanding Bills and bringing them to fruition. The Government could signal its commitment to this plan by submitting amendments and endorsing the Microgeneration Support Scheme Bill 2017, which I have brought forward. I also call on the Government to desist from using the obstructionist tactic of stating at the last minute that a money message is necessary in order to block Bills.

There are many more attainable measures which can be given a higher priority. Shallow retrofitting of houses is one, specifically roof and attic insulation, which can potentially take hundreds of thousands of tonnes of carbon out of the atmosphere at a low cost. It is regrettable that the plan falls short. We welcome the positive measures in it but the Government must expand its horizons on climate action. We cannot just leave it to the market to decide. The market has not done this to date and in the case of the midlands, as I pointed out yesterday in the committee, power generation and retrofits have to involve the semi-State companies. We need to have a just transition in the midlands for workers who are going to become unemployed. We must retrain and upskill unemployed people and encourage tradespeople back in to work in those industries.

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