Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

While Sinn Féin supports this Bill there are aspects of it I am concerned about. A just transition must occur if this is to work. I live in the heart of rural Ireland and am very concerned about the effects that initiatives under this Bill are going to have or indeed are having on people living in rural Ireland and on the farming community in particular. The vast majority of people generally agree we need to change the way we live to save the planet, we all know it is at crisis point and Ireland, as small as it is, must do its part.

However, carbon taxes on people in rural Ireland are totally unfair. The increase in the cost of petrol and diesel impacts on people in rural areas much more than people in urban areas because in rural areas people do not have alternative transport options. Farmers and contractors must use heavy machinery, which operates on diesel. They have no options. Farmers are already caring for the environment and are willing to find environmentally friendly ways of operating but ways must be found to work with farmers instead of penalising them by imposing taxes and tariffs.

I am also aware that turf and peat harvesting is being restricted on many bogs throughout the country. This has led to the importation of briquettes from other countries and the importation of peat for those who work in the horticulture sector. That sector has no option but to import peat to ensure business continuity and it cannot access peat here. The importation of products is not just bad for the economy; it is also bad for the environment. Fumes from transporting these products are causing significant damage. A proper plan must be put in place for the safe harvesting of peat products for the sectors that need them, rather than having to import them. Many rural families also depend on turf for heating their homes out of economic necessity and cannot afford to buy other types of fuel. Traders from the North are also selling coal and briquettes down South much more cheaply than traders here are, due to the fact that registered traders must pay carbon tax in the Twenty-Six Counties. Nobody is monitoring this activity. In County Cavan, fuel is being sold door-to-door out of vans and there needs to be an all-island approach to carbon taxes and indeed to how climate change is tackled. County Cavan and other Border counties are not the only areas affected by this illicit fuel trade and it represents a loss of revenue to the Government, non-adherence to smoky fuel bans and the real possibility of fuel merchants here having to close and therefore a loss in employment.

I am also still seeing widespread use of single-use plastic. This needs to be totally cut back and penalties imposed on companies that still insist on using single-use plastic in their packaging. Packaging should also be clearly marked as it is still quite confusing as far as what is recyclable and what is compatible is concerned. People will be swayed in what they buy if this is clearly marked and identified to them.

We are aware of the positive impact of sustainable forestry. It needs to be promoted and not forced on farmers as the planting of trees on land which is suitable for such purposes is so beneficial to the environment. However, I am told by some of the forestry companies that they are totally frustrated by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine’s delays and bureaucracy. There are now delays in applications, they cannot get licences to fell trees and the sawmills are running out of logs. Is the solution to import logs too? That is not on.

Retrofitting houses is an important part of fighting climate change but even with grants, it is far too expensive for most people to afford. The waiting list for the home retrofitting schemes are also ridiculous. For example, the waiting list for the warmer homes scheme is now in excess of two years. Approximately 8,000 houses are waiting to be surveyed for the SEAI grant scheme and the number of local authority houses being funded for the retrofit is dismal - I think it is only 1,300 for the year. Thus a greater investment in this area is needed to do with the backlogs and to have more education, apprenticeships and business support in this area.

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