Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We are here today to examine the large budgetary requirement and the Estimates for the Department to put measures in place to allow that Department to continue making those payments and providing supports so many people are dependent on to get us through this unprecedented health emergency. These ongoing payments are necessary and are the right use of public money. Our responsibility here is to support everyone in this country to get through this time of crisis. I will be supporting this proposal today for that reason.

It is also opportune at this time to acknowledge the major workload across all Departments in administering these payments. All the staff who have been redeployed have had to learn on their feet in addition to answering all the questions that came from us. At a local level, local enterprise offices have done great work in supporting businesses and administering the payments and supports there.

Another very large budgetary figure also requires our attention. I refer to the EU funding, the EU recovery proposal, the green new deal. Today in the House we are dealing with the immediate crisis and the supports to get us through full reopening of businesses and beyond. The bigger challenge that faces us is the roadmap ahead over the coming years for the Government and the country. We need to encourage investment, we need to grow employment and most importantly we need to give confidence back to people to encourage that investment and to show them a path forward that is better than what went before.

The Commission is discussing large figures for European stimulus packages, grants and loans. We do not know what the final figure will be but it will be substantial. Those supports will give us the ability to provide that confidence and investment. We must use that funding in a way that encourages large-scale investment in projects that cut emissions, that decarbonise the economy, offer high returns and create long-term sustainable jobs and which provide confidence for investors. Clean energy infrastructure, for example, can create twice as many jobs and drives down energy costs for everybody. It will drive down the energy costs for every household in the country. Retrofitting our existing housing stock must be a top priority. A public housing building programme will get people back to work and provides hope.

Last night I attended a webinar by the Tipperary Energy Agency on the opportunities that exist in respect of solar panels. Photovoltaic fitting provides a great opportunity, where the sunshine that is outside today could be powering houses across the country. Those would be long-term jobs and that would drive down energy costs and would reduce the spending on imported fuels at a domestic level. This makes sense with smart metering and a potential to feed energy back into the grid. The right supports and encouragement could result in a roll-out of solar technology across every rooftop in the country, with commercial and domestic applications. There is great potential.

We must invest in public transport systems. We cannot go back to the congestion and poor air quality, with people stuck in their cars for hours every day. There is a deficit in public transport infrastructure which we need to address. It is not just about getting from city to city but also how we get around within our towns and villages. We need to invest in safe walking routes to schools in the mornings. Many children are being driven to school because there are no safe walking routes. We need investment in cycling infrastructure to get that life and vitality back into our towns, which does not exist when people are driving around and stuck in congested traffic.

There must be investment in health and education, in building our skills base to take advantage of the opportunities for innovation in the digital economy. That is the way forward. The investment must be regionally balanced and must include rural support spending, particularly sustainable agriculture and ecosystem regeneration, local and community enterprise supports. Such investments are not just Green Party policy; they are supported by academic research. They provide the highest returns, create a sustainable economy, attract investment and are a route to decarbonisation. It is a sustainable future. They are inclusive, fair and ensure long-term job creation. We are at a turning point. We need to take the opportunities that the aforementioned EU fund can provide. We need transformative change. That is the challenge for a future Government.

I have three questions.

See this speech in context