Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for bringing forward this Bill. We have already had one vote on it and we will have plenty of discussion and many more votes. It is acknowledged this Bill benefited greatly from the pre-legislative scrutiny at the Joint Committee on Climate Action before Christmas, which was ably chaired by the Minister's colleague, Deputy Leddin. The climate committee members worked on a cross-party basis, heard from a wide range of experts, in private and public, and made 78 recommendations to the Minister with a view to improving and strengthening this Bill. Many of these recommendations have been incorporated in the Bill before us today, which is welcome. However, while this version is a considerable improvement on the draft Bill, we believe there is room for further improvement, and we will be proposing amendments on Committee Stage.

This is landmark legislation which will outlive any one Administration, so it is important we get it right at this stage. It is important to set the targets and the framework to get us there. The Minister will have received correspondence in recent days from Professors John Sweeney and Barry McMullin and Dr. Andrew Jackson outlining some concerns about the Bill, principally its failure, legally or scientifically, to place the commitment of the programme for Government for the period 2021 to 2030 on a secure statutory basis. They argue the language used in section 9 is legally uncertain and could give rise to contradictory interpretations. Given the limited time I have and the fact the Minister has no doubt read the letter and considered its contents, I will not articulate its contents in full but I ask that he might, in his concluding remarks, address the points raised in it and whether he intends to amend the section accordingly.

The shift in public awareness on climate issues and the appetite for change in recent years has been a really positive development. The youth climate strikes that took place globally and across Ireland before Covid-19, demonstrated the desire for our younger generations for a significant step change in how the State and the private sector approach our environment and deal with the climate crisis. It is essential we listen to people on climate action. It is often noted the public are usually ahead of politicians on issues, and none more so than the need to address the climate emergency. People want change. They want green energy, warmer homes, better transport, cleaner air and unpolluted rivers, but they also want this transition to zero carbon to be fair. This is where this and previous Governments have failed. People know this transition will take personal change on their behalf, but they want to see the Government pulling its weight and big polluters doing their share of the heavy lifting, and that has not been happening to date.

Ordinary people have been an easy target for the Government, and they have been hit again and again. Ask most people what they think of when they hear climate action and reducing our emissions and many will answer it is one cost after another, in rural and in urban Ireland: carbon tax, higher electricity and heating bills, and increased fuel costs at the forecourts. They will also point out how major corporations and vested interests have shirked their responsibilities, enabled by light touch regulation. Take electricity use. Hundreds of thousands of families live in fuel and energy poverty, struggling to keep the electricity bills down as a result of the huge carbon tax and public service obligation levy increases this year, but then they see data centres that use enough energy to power a town springing up with reckless abandon. Government action to date has not been fair or equitable when it comes to reducing our overall emissions. Ordinary people feel they are hit again and again while others continue to get a free ride. That has to change, and if it does not, we will fail.

Climate action does not have to have such negative connotations for people; indeed, quite the opposite. It can deliver huge benefits. It can and should bring about progressive change and transformation: new green jobs, warmer homes, better health outcomes, cheaper and cleaner ways of getting to school or work, cleaner air and rivers, greater connection to place and community and to the environment, additional income for local communities and businesses through selling excess wind energy, and the list goes on.

While this Bill is about the framework governing the targets and reductions and does not deal with the specific measures that will help us achieve them, the specific measures must be inclusive in rural and urban Ireland, they must be fair and they must ensure a just transition is always a priority. This approach must also extend to jobs that will be lost due to our transition to green energy. The ESB’s announcement earlier this month on its Green Atlantic at Moneypoint plan provides an example of how this shift can not only protect jobs but also bring significant new investment and potential to a region. The €5 billion plan to convert the coal power plant into a green energy hub, together with offshore floating wind and green hydrogen production and storage facilities, is an incredibly impressive plan that, if delivered, will bring huge benefits to the region as well as ensuring workers at Moneypoint and in the local community are not left behind as the burning of coal ends. We can and should be leaders in this field.

Workers in Bord na Móna and the midlands, by comparison, have been failed miserably by successive governments. They have been sold a green pup or a climate pup. As peat production winds up in the midlands, we need government intervention and financial support to ensure workers there are supported with new training and new opportunities. That has to happen or we are lost.

I welcome the provisions that seek to engage the public on our climate approach and seek people's input and views. However, more public consultation that acts as just a box-ticking exercise and ignores what is put forward by ordinary people will be a total waste of everyone’s time. Engagement must be meaningful. There will not always be agreement but it is about working with the public, respecting them and bringing them along.

In my constituency, the North-South interconnector is a case in point. It is an important piece of energy infrastructure. The public want it but want it underground. For 15 years, they have been making that case. It is entirely feasible but EirGrid and successive Governments have preferred to bully local communities rather than engage with them. Where is that project? It is nowhere, and that is where it is going to stay unless EirGrid and the Government change tack. The communities along the route are still adamant that they do not want 50 m high pylons carrying 400 kV lines next to their homes, but EirGrid and the Government have ignored public opinion and the clear evidence which shows the underground alternative is technically feasible, affordable and deliverable. In fact, it is the only way this project will be delivered. The approach has infuriated local communities and only serves to paralyse important projects. No amount of propaganda or advertising expenditure can hide that. I ask the Minister to learn from this. What is being done is no way of doing business. If he continues in this vein, we will not have a hope of meeting our emissions and renewables targets. It will be a constant battle between communities and the Government instead of collaboration.

As my party's transport spokesperson I am particularly interested in what we need to do to reduce the 20% contribution of the transport sector to our overall emissions. Public transport will be a key aspect, and significant investment in infrastructure, fleet expansion and replacement is needed to accelerate the modal shift from car to bus or train. There is a huge unmet need, including in respect of school bus transport, that the Government seems intent on continuing to ignore. This must be addressed. Similarly, communities in the west have been advocating for the western rail corridor for years and people in Meath, like me, have been arguing for rail transport to Dublin. People want to leave their cars at home but, owing to a lack of investment in public transport for decades, they have little option. These are just a few examples of key public transport interventions that can deliver significant environmental benefits and boost investment in jobs and tourism in areas but that have been bogged down in review after review with no progress.

As mentioned, we will be making several amendments on Committee Stage with a view to addressing shortcomings we believe remain. Some that were already mentioned relate to interim targets. Our amendments will also strengthen the Bill in terms of its obligation to achieve a just transition and provide certainty on the appointments process for the Climate Change Advisory Council and on the issue of fracked gas and the role of the public in shaping their carbon future. I hope there will be an opportunity for further refinement and I look forward to working with the Minister and others from across this House to continue to improve this really important Bill.

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