Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

We did not hear a single word denying the science of climate change as well as hearing the words of wisdom. This is why I stand up proud of the Dáil, our political system, the Seanad and the Houses of the Oireachtas. To go back to what I said at the beginning of my opening contribution, it is not all bad in our country. In other parliaments there is real division, doubt and dissension on this critical issue and science is not acknowledged. This is not the case here. I accept absolutely the words of wisdom. What we heard is that we do not want to hit the individual. The concern about carbon tax is that it is the only measure and all the guilt, shame and price is being put on the individual.

That is not the plan or what will work or where we want to go. This matter requires this and subsequent Dáileanna to work together. As Deputy Leddin said, this will not work on a divisive basis because it will just stop and start and we will not get anywhere. It will take a whole series of Parliaments making the investment and other decisions to make it easier for individuals to do the right thing without carrying all the costs or burden. One needs all the tools, however, as it is such a massive change we have to make. One needs carbon pricing and a whole range of other measures as well.

Another point I heard was to not forget or harm rural Ireland. Deputy O'Donoghue is the epitome of what I said about not denying climate change. I heard him saying that rural Ireland has to go zero-carbon too. Rural Ireland should be first. The thing we are about to do is technically difficult, particularly insofar as it involves particularly switching to electric vehicles and heat pumps, which will be the two big changes which will affect people's daily quality of life for the better. Electric vehicles are better cars. That is why Tesla is ten times the value of Volkswagen. Everyone knows electric cars are going to win. There are only 40 moving parts in an electric car but 140 in a combustion engine. One has a fraction of the maintenance and fuel costs. Electric vehicles are going to win.

The hardest challenge is going to be how we charge everything. All those one-off rural houses will be much easier to put an electric car in because one does not have the problems, as I said in my opening statement, with the distribution grid. Electric vehicles should be rolled out first in rural Ireland. It is the same with heat pumps. Managing a whole street of heat pumps and electric vehicles would be hard in urban Ireland. In a one-off rural house, however, we would not have that problem. The wind power is found locally in rural Ireland, by and large. Let us use that to power the future and progress of rural Ireland. Rural Ireland could proudly be one of the first places in this country to go zero-carbon. We will do whatever we can to support and make that happen for the people of Limerick, as well as Dublin.

I heard much concern about local economies, including the local forestry economy, and the need to use the Lanesborough and Shannonbridge power stations. We should use our carbon fund in that regard. Deputy James O'Connor spoke about how we must get building infrastructure in Youghal - a beautiful town - right. We get it right by working with communities rather than going against them. Deputy Carthy referred to Monaghan. We must ensure enterprises are retained in Monaghan but we cannot keep extracting peat. That may be difficult. It may require huge ingenuity, which they have in spades in Monaghan. That is why companies like Kingspan are successful in the green economy. That is why companies like Glen Dimplex in the north east are so successful. We are good at ingenuity, engineering and thinking how we can solve the quintessential problems of our day. We cannot do it, however, if we keep remitting carbon. Local economies and communities have to be centre stage in this.

I heard other Members say we need to change the whole model and the whole economy. I agree fully. For example, we could use this Covid opportunity to have remote working one or two days a week. Let us do things differently if it means savings in commuting and not having to spend on massive motorway networks.

Deputy Duncan Smith spoke about being either radical or redundant. We should go radical in terms of promoting cycling and the future of energy. The scale of change will be so great that it will change the economic model, and it will be a change for the better. It has to be a just transition.

I heard many Members say we have done enough talking, and now is the time for delivering. It is a pity that Deputy Farrell is no longer in the Chamber because I was going to take up his point about e-scooters. We need to pass legislation for them quickly. We need to do our job to make it easier for people rather than making them feel guilty that they are using them illegally. Why not have greenways like the one in Dún Laoghaire in other parts of south Dublin? I would love to sit down with Deputy Lahart and the transport committee of South Dublin County Council and any other council interested in this transition to discuss this matter. As part of our Covid response, we must consider how to change the transport system to get thousands of people on bikes, e-scooters and electric bikes, while keeping public transport safe for those who have to use it. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, which the Deputy mentioned, started the coastal cycle route in May and completed it in July. It is spectacular. We need to be radical.

Deputy Patricia Ryan and others said we have to be able to sell power back to the grid. We need to do this quickly in the House. Before Christmas, we need to get the wind guidelines out so there is not so much division and difficulties around planning. The biggest obstacle is lack of public confidence in and support for, as well as speed and clarity in, our planning system.

Deputy O'Rourke asked where we are going with the climate Bill. All it does is set up the framework to start considering all the measures. I hope that it will be in the House in early October. We are working on the final draft and it is due to go the Cabinet shortly. I expect it to be in the House in a matter of weeks. The real work starts early next year, however, because, as I said in my opening statement, we have to go to Glasgow this time next year with our heads held high that we have a climate change plan appropriate to the task. We need to get that climate Bill through before Christmas. We need to spend the first six to nine months next year having a proper serious debate on each of these sectors to determine what the real means of delivering on the target will be.

As Deputy Leddin said, this is not small change. This is beyond anything we have ever done before. We will work it out best when we look at all the different options. However, they have to be options based on science and not skirting around some of the hard decisions we will have to make. They will be hard decisions but good for our people. We will be good at this because the House is not divided on the underlying fundamental truth, the science. No one here said that this would not be good for our people in rural Ireland or those less well-off. That gives me confidence that we will be good at this and it will be good for the people.

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