Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

This is a timely debate, both because of the enormous climate crisis and because the Green Party may be on the verge of going into government. I will start with a couple of big picture points. I read a report the other day that said climate emissions may be down 12% in the State this year, not because of any actions by the Government, but because of the virus. It is like what happened ten years ago when there were declines in carbon emissions because of the crash in the economy rather than anything a conservative Government did. The Government's record is more accurately shown by the fact that carbon emissions in this State are the third highest in the EU, behind only Estonia and Luxembourg. They are more than double the carbon emissions per capitaof Sweden. This country is on track for billions of euro worth of fines in 2030 for not reaching targets. I read that the EU average for the amount of land under afforestation is around 35%, whereas in Ireland it is less than a third of that.

If the Green Party goes into government, presumably the idea will be promoted that this will make a radical difference.

There are two issues. One is whether the policies will go far enough and the other is whether they will be just. I only have time to deal with the justice issue today. I believe the policies will not go far enough because they will be within the framework of a market economy which will put profit before the environment. Presumably if the Green Party go into government, more policies will be wheeled out, packaged as measures to tackle the crisis. Will justice form part of those policies?

Under the previous Government and the current caretaker Government, we saw the lack of justice towards the Bord na Móna workers in Shannonbridge and Lanesborough who had consented to the closure of their peat-burning stations and sacrificed their jobs for the greater good. They were promised a just transition, but for a long time Bord na Móna refused to set up a forum. There was a real prospect of workers and communities being left behind. There was a suspicion that there was an agenda of deunionisation. It was only when the workers raised their voices and protested like the protests that were called during the general election campaign that some change on the issue was forced. We will watch this very carefully when the new Government comes into office.

The big issue will be the question of a carbon tax. It is €26 per tonne at the moment. The previous Government wanted it to be up to €80 per tonne by 2030, and I understand the Green Party want it to be €100 per tonne. We are opposed to the idea of a carbon tax on ordinary people. If the Government wants to put a carbon tax on big business, that is a different matter. Some 71% of carbon emissions in the world since 1988 have come from a mere 100 corporations.

I understand that the Green Party went into Government talks with a policy of a fee and dividend model, in other words, people pay a carbon tax and are then refunded money. That at least allows for the possibility of something like refunds for the majority of ordinary people while leaving the carbon tax on the richest in a society. An alternative is a wealth tax to provide refunds for people who have paid carbon tax.

That is rather different from the model being argued for by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, the so-called hypothecated model, whereby everyone is charged the carbon tax and the money is ring-fenced for environmental policies. In other words, it is a policy which makes ordinary people pay. I would not say that the dividend model was progressive, a phrase which is sometimes used, but it was certainly less reactionary than the model being argued for by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. We have had quite a few press reports in recent days that the Green Party have conceded on this issue and that some money may be given back to people in receipt of social welfare, but that would be the exception rather than the rule. In other words, the party would have signed up to what would clearly be a regressive tax. I want to make it very clear that this is something which will not just be opposed from these benches but will be opposed by ordinary people, as was the case in France.

The final point I would make to the Green Party negotiators is that I have read about liquified natural gas being a no-no in Shannon, which I hope is the case. I hope that is true for everywhere else in the country, including Cork where there are plans to introduce it.

See this speech in context