Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Having watched the UN debates on the television, I believe Greta Thunberg showed clearly how the next generation is facing the future and educating all of us on the changes we have to make. If there is one point I need to make, it is a very simple one. It is about education. If the Greens turn off our oil and gas, that will be fine once we make sure the public does not object to infrastructure that is essential to bringing wind and wave energy to our population. One of our main problems is that sometimes tens of thousands of people object to new renewable energy infrastructure. This drive is led by those who really should know better. The most important message of Ms Thunberg that we must take on board concerns education. We must inform ourselves and accept that changes are coming. We must embrace them and welcome them, and we must stop objecting to infrastructure for energy from renewable sources.

My second point is that the Government is doing a lot about public transport. Some €7.5 billion has been spent on transporting millions of people, by way of BusConnects, Metrolink and the DART expansion. This should be accounted for in making comparisons. I challenge the Green Party to identify the roads it will it cut. Will it stop the bypassing of Ardee or Julianstown? People do not have a choice when they have to commute to work if there are no public transport options available.

See this speech in context