Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am beginning to doubt myself, but am I correct in saying there is no increase in the levy? Okay. That is the first thing to correct, that there is no proposal to increase the levy. What we are doing here is putting the climate action fund, which is already in place on an administrative basis, onto a statutory basis. Then we are extending the remit of the fund to use that money better and for more projects. The 3 cent is exactly what is there at the moment and we are now putting that on a statutory footing and taking it away from the power of the Minister to increase or decrease it. Is it the case that it can only be changed by legislation? Okay.

I welcome that it is going on a statutory footing. Like other Members I ask for clarification about what happens to the money that is held by NORA, because this Bill is not retrospective.

My ears are ringing so I have to go back to basics to look at this. I come from a city and I represent a constituency that includes what we like to think is a big city. My constituency also contains a rural area. The constant pushing of a divide between the rural and the urban is unhelpful. It is not going to help us to meet our climate change challenges. There is of course an obligation on both sides. There is an obligation on speakers to stand up for rural areas which I agree have been neglected. There is a lot of hypocrisy regarding the development of sustainable regional and rural areas and we really have to learn to make our words mean something. We have no choice but to face our obligations in combating climate change. The fact that we are a small country does not make a difference; it is time to show leadership on that. Our footprint is of course much bigger than that of the poorer countries which will suffer the most. I do not have time to go into how we have declared a climate and biodiversity emergency. We have to take action and that is it.

As I said, I welcome that this is going on a statutory footing. I share Deputy Bríd Smith's concerns about the levy. If we are really serious about tackling climate change then that levy should be reducing because there should be less and less fuel being used. We are reliant on €500 million - €50 million a year for ten years - and that is not sustainable.

I despair that we are sending out a message on a daily basis that people should avoid public transport. I used public transport for the last four years and I am now back to driving a car because there are no buses running for me from Galway. The train service is not convenient as far as the timing of the Dáil is concerned. I make no complaint. I simply wonder how we are going to recover from the message that is being sent out on a daily business that people should not use public transport. This is at a time when we should be building up our capacity, encouraging, facilitating and making it much easier for people to use public transport.

I thank the Oireachtas Library and Research Service again for its very detailed digest and the work that has gone into it. On the final page of the digest, there is a quote from the Irish Petroleum Industry Association, IPIA, that is of great concern. The IPIA, which represents 95% of Irish oil industry companies, did not want this to happen. I found myself in agreement with the previous Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, when he rejected the IPIA's criticism. The IPIA did not want this to happen. It wanted the money and the surplus to support oil users in the transition to low-carbon alternative fuels. Last year, the then Minister said:

The IPIA suggest that the NORA surplus could be used to create a fund to support current users of oil based fuels to transition to low carbon alternatives. That is exactly what the government is doing through the establishment of the Climate Action Fund.

I welcome that. It is very good, but I have a difficulty. I am looking forward to the next round, which I gather has not been done yet. I think the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, mentioned in his speech that a committee will be set up. Perhaps it has been set up. If so, how representative will it be? What regional balance will be on it? Ultimately we want to sell this to all of our citizens and residents. I would love to see an emphasis on communities in Galway, in Connemara and in the rural areas of south Mayo to show what we are doing with this money and put it back into renewable energy as well as many other ideas that I will not go into.

The shouting about this issue prior to now has impacted on me. I want to use that, because it is a never-ending narrative that is not helpful to us in this House. We need to start acting responsibly and taking actions together. I have made the point repeatedly that we can only do that if we make language mean something. Theoretically we have a wonderful fund here at the moment, notwithstanding my reservations about what it is based on. How do we use that to the maximum effect to show people that they can benefit from the levy on fossil fuels? We should do it in the most transparent way possible and with proper advice from a committee that properly represents most people.

As I have said, I would prefer it if this were an interactive session because I wanted to ask a few questions on the Bill and to get some things confirmed. It is welcome that in governance terms, NORA comes under the Comptroller and Auditor General on a statutory basis and that the provisions of the legislation allow for this.

My final question is on Irish Water. It is also included here regarding getting advice and services from the NTMA which I welcome. At what stage is Irish Water going to come under the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Committee of Public Accounts? Perhaps the Minister of State might address that in his closing speech. It is absolutely vital that there be public oversight of Irish Water. It will have oversight of NORA, as it has over all public bodies, and it is time for Irish Water to come under scrutiny.

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