Dáil debates

Wednesday, 10 June 2020

Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements

 

10:20 am

Photo of Claire KerraneClaire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I wish to use the few minutes I have to speak from a rural perspective about the climate transition we must all make. I hope the Minister will take some pointers on this issue. Rural communities do not wish to be dumping grounds for pylons, wind turbines, battery storage plants or forestry. All Members know of instances where communities have not been properly consulted and are left to battle big companies, sometimes having to go all the way to the High Court in order for justice to be done. This is not about saying "No" to renewables, but it must be about proper planning, proper oversight and consultation from the very beginning. We need to bring communities with us.

In recent years in particular, there has been a steady increase in applications for forestry in parts of counties Roscommon and Galway. We need to ensure that proper regulations are in place to make certain that no one area is targeted and blighted with forestry. We also need to look at other options, such as offshore wind energy generation. Ireland is one of the only countries in the EU with an Atlantic coastline, but the option of offshore generation has not been developed.

During the general election campaign, I met a young woman from just outside Ballinasloe who was having difficulty obtaining planning permission to build a house on her farmland in order to allow her to continue farming close by. There is a concern that local authorities are moving away from one-off housing, which will mean an end to rural communities. We should be sustaining and supporting those communities. Not everyone wants to live in Dublin or another urban centre.

Another worry is the continued targeting of farmers when it comes to climate action. Farmers must not pay the price for climate action. In many cases they simply cannot afford to do so. Whatever Government is in place for the negotiations on the new Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, will need to bear that in mind because we know that farmers have been threatened with significant cuts under it. We cannot take from farmers the subsidies on which they depend while also expecting more and more from them. Farmers need to be incentivised to implement practices to reduce carbon emissions and rewarded when they do so.

I wish to raise the issue of illegal dumping. This problem appears to be getting worse in many rural areas. There are several black spots in counties Roscommon and Galway. Two weeks ago, a litter warden told me that, basically, sending a warning letter is all they can do in many cases. If that is the law as it stands, then that law needs to be changed. Local authorities need far stronger enforcement powers and they need to be resourced to ensure they have an adequate number of litter wardens per county. Part of that solution should be to bring control of waste collection back under local authorities.

Many rural towns and communities have not experienced any recovery whatsoever and the Minister needs to be mindful of that in the context of climate change actions. I ask that he consider rural-proofing climate action measures. We have a significant amount to do, but we need to bring people with us, including rural towns, villages and communities, farmers, Bord na Móna workers and, of course, the young people I commend on having opened many eyes to the need for immediate action.

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