Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not. I look forward to a robust debate with the Minister. We understand each other and have no hard feelings, and the same goes for all the members of the Rural Independent Group. Deputy O'Donoghue asked me to ask the Minister when, like "Living with Lucy", the Minister will visit Limerick with him.

This is perhaps the most far-reaching piece of legislation to come before the Chamber in the current Dáil. As someone who has grown up, worked and lived in rural Ireland all my life, I am acutely aware of the fondness and respect that rural people have for the land, hedgerows, biodiversity and environmental sustainability. Their meitheal spirit is still alive and well when the chips are down and things are difficult as we saw during the recent lockdowns. Above all else, rural people have a deep sense of pride in passing on our traditions, heritage and way of life to the next generation. We value that greatly.

It is within this context that I want to clearly outline my full commitment, and the commitment of my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group, to improving the environment and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, I believe that pursuing these noble objectives should not have the impact of making people poorer by introducing harsh measures on ordinary people who only want to live happily and peacefully. There is a better way. There must be a fairer way, a path that must be socially just and grounded in economic equality which also achieves the required reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions. Social justice must be the central belief of this Bill. We cannot have a situation of legally binding emissions passed into law for a four-decade time window without consideration of some key elements. This Bill aims to bring about the reduction targets, five-yearly carbon budgets, sectoral emissions ceilings, an annually updated climate action plan and a long-term climate action strategy, with little or no actual democratic accountability to an Teach seo. We are privileged to be elected for the time being.

The expansion of the Climate Change Advisory Council under this Bill was welcomed yesterday by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. She and I differ on things like this but I admire all her contributions for their honesty and integrity. The expansion of the council will result in that 13-member committee having much more input than ordinary citizens and even democratically-elected Teachtaí Dála. The council will be given a key assessing and advisory role for Ireland’s transition to a zero-carbon economy by 2050. That is a diminution of our democracy.

We believe that this Bill is being rushed through the Dail while the country is in a pandemic and without any consideration for the impact it will have on ordinary people, farmers or rural Ireland. This Bill treats rural Ireland as a victim and its population as rogues. That should not be. We cannot have a demonising of rural people. We need more of the honey and less of the vinegar. At the very minimum, such legislative proposals should be accompanied by rigorous independent analysis into the social, societal and economic impact of such proposals and on how they will impact each sector. The number of quangos has mushroomed. I want to see farmers, farmer bodies and rural dwellers represented on the Climate Change Advisory Council. We must include the input of people who understand rural Ireland and will be impacted by the decisions that are made. If we had proper scrutiny, it would at least allow Deputies the opportunity to make informed decisions and provide for transparency around the costs and the benefits associated with the far-reaching impacts of this Bill. In fact, this legislation did not even contain a straightforward regulatory impact assessment of the Bill. We are promised that it will be published on Committee Stage. That serves to highlight again the rushed nature of this Bill. Make hay slowly, I say. I know people believe we are in a climate crisis. We are not climate change deniers but we want fairness.

This legislation has one common denominator, that is, the legislative impact will make every single Irish citizen poorer or much less well off. The Bill is much more draconian than the draft Bill published in October 2020. The main provisions include an objective of climate neutrality by 2050 and an interim target of a 51% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, relative to a baseline of 2018.

Some Members of this House and several members of the Green Party were highly critical of the members of the Rural Independent Group for not attending the Oireachtas committee which considered the draft Bill. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle knows that we only have six members. We did not get a lot of choice on committees because the Government took all the cake and left us some cake in the shape of a number of committee memberships. We did not get a membership of the relevant committee. We are all busy people who have other committee meetings at which to attend. If we decide to go to a meeting of a committee of which we are not members, we would have to wait, perhaps for hours, to get in to speak. That argument does not hold water and the people making those allegations should know better because they know the way the committee system works. Such criticisms are grossly disingenuous and are nothing more than a distraction, for several reasons. The members of the Rural Independent Group have their own committees, as I said.

This Bill is before us because the programme for Government was carved up between Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, supported by a number of regional Independents, many of whom I noticed did come in to speak on the Bill. I was alarmed that country Deputies did not speak and were not interested in the Bill.

The Bill is being fuelled to keep the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Green Party happy. It is a means for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to hold onto power, irrespective of the costs or impact to ordinary people and key sectors such as agriculture and many others. We believe that this Bill will do absolutely nothing to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the only thing that this legislation will do is hammer Ireland’s economy, cost thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly, and include harsh impositions on our people. Above all else, the Bill is anti-rural, attacks the poor and will do absolutely nothing whatsoever to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. We say that not only because we think it. We have seen independent research by different universities to back that up.

This Bill is riddled with hypocrisy, like all the Government’s actions and messages on climate change. We hear Government Deputies and Ministers claiming that this Bill will make Ireland the world leader on tackling climate change. Do we want to be a leader on tackling climate change? It is a nice aspiration and lovely ambition but we must respect our people's right to exist under the Constitution. Ireland, through this Bill, even though we produce 0.11% or one tenth of 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, is introducing potentially the most severe and utterly unachievable emission targets anywhere on the planet. Where is the research, backup and common sense? Such nonsense fools no one. If we were serious about reducing the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, we would be focusing our efforts abroad and on a global scale.

Instead, the inward focus of the Bill will target Irish people and do nothing to reduce global emissions. Deep down, this cynical Government knows that is the case. Its only objective is to stay in power. It is willing to throw every single citizen under the bus, if the bus is still travelling and not out of gas, that is.

Greenhouse gas emissions are a global issue. The Government approach is tokenism and amounts to penalties on Irish people while turning a blind eye to what happens on a global stage. That is blatantly obvious. For example, a report published in 2018 by Greenpeace - I hope and know the Minister will not rubbish that organisation - stated that one small power plant in China produces far in excess of all the greenhouse gas emissions produced in Ireland in aon bhliain amháin. That is a stark fact. In fact, the report states that the top three firms in China emitted more greenhouse gases than the whole of Ireland in the past decade. Why are we not looking at that? My colleagues and I are often accused of not looking at the broader picture but that is a very broad question. China is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies and, with that growth, its emissions are increasing rapidly. China plans to build more power plants. Each plant that is built, even the small ones, will produce at least the same amount of greenhouse gases that Ireland produces in any year. We have to be serious about this. This serves to underline the fact that this issue must be dealt with on a global scale. We support that being done. The Government’s flawed approach aims to hammer the Irish public with a raft of carbon-related taxation measures and net reduction targets while also doing business with China. That is farcical and turns a blind eye to China's emissions problems. We must be proud people. We were always recognised and respected as a neutral country. We must have our voice respected again.

While claiming to be the best in class and banning the cutting of turf under the Bill, the Government continues to support electricity generation at the Moneypoint power plant in County Clare via the importation of coal from an open-cast mine in Colombia. This is utterly bizarre nonsense and not a word is said about it. I was recently out on the bog in Moanyarha in Contae Phort Láirge, not too far from my parish, and saw men and women engaged in the old practice and pastime of cutting turf to give them a bit of heat during the winter. That should not be discontinued. I will fight for their right to keep cutting turf. It is easy for middle-class green activists in Dublin to propose the end of farming as we know it or to campaign against economic growth when the devastating consequences of both will be felt by others. That is what is happening.

The Government hypocrisy on climate change is also exposed when it comes to the transport sector, where a lack of strategic planning has resulted in emissions that spiralled by between 14% and 16% in 2020. This is mainly due to a lack of investment in public transportation across the country. I thank the Minister for coming to Tipperary and listening to the people. I know he has good aims and objectives and wants to get more trains, buses, rail corridors and whatever but is not in favour of big motorways. I am not in favour of them either. We need small bypasses of towns. We need to let the towns live and not cut them off completely. I am thankful that the Minister is considering the M20 and the M24 and the associated impacts and costs, including the impacts on biodiversity. If the Government was serious about reducing emissions, it would begin by putting public transport in place across the country in order to provide people with an alternative mode of transport. We just do not have it. Bus services to Cashel and Tipperary are being cut. I heard Deputy Cathal Crowe remark earlier that he only has a few miles to cycle to the station in County Clare. That is great, but I could not cycle to my local station, which is 40 miles from my house. There are stations in Cahir and Clonmel but the train would not get me to Dublin until 3 o'clock in the afternoon. I have no doubt some Deputies would be delighted with that because they would not have to listen to me. The lack of public transport is not fair to people.

The Government hypocrisy is underlined by the fact that the Government could not even meet the lower 2020 EU emissions reduction targets, but it now wants to be the best in the world by 2030.

I wish to focus on several destructive measures in the Bill which will destroy rural communities. First, the Bill is anti-agriculture. On a global level, agriculture accounts for 16% of all greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, agriculture accounts for 34% of greenhouse gas emissions in this country. The Bill provides no special derogation for any parts of agriculture. Members are aware of the issue last week relating to heather. There is heather in my area. The purple heather on the Knockmealdowns is beautiful. The cuckoos have been there for the past two weeks and it is wonderful. Such land is farmed and has been farmed for generations but is now going to be ruled out in terms of receiving any kind of payments. That is pathetic nonsense. The heather is rich and untouched and has been there for generations and centuries but now the Government wants to cut the payment for land that has heather on it. Farmers are going to clear it and plough the land. One hand does not know what the other hand is doing.

Under the Bill, those involved in agriculture in Ireland will be forced to pay a disproportionate cost, much higher than that which will be paid by farmers in other countries. The fact that the Bill makes no special provision for the agricultural sector is utterly outrageous. We depend on farmers. That has never been more clear than during the recent lockdown. Under the Bill, the Climate Change Advisory Council and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications will set the targets, which means the cuts proposed for the agriculture sector will be profound.

Before the most recent general election, many Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil Deputies came into the House and promised to bring in a special exemption for the agrifood sector. Where are those promises now? They are gone, like snow off a ditch or a cat through a skylight. Those Deputies are saying locally that agriculture will be okay. They are using the nod and a wink politics of the past. That is not good enough. They come in here and criticise me and my colleagues for scaremongering. We are not scaremongering; we are reporting from very reputable sources. Those Deputies are going to vote in favour of the Bill and its impactful measures. Well, I have a message for them. They cannot dine à la carteon this issue. Either they stand with farmers, local communities and ordinary people by voting against the Bill or they are for the Bill. However, they should know that if they vote in favour of the Bill, they are crucifying - I am sorry for using that word - every person living in rural Ireland.

That is what was done last Friday night when there was an increase in the carbon tax on fuel. The fuel subsidy is gone and people are perishing in their houses in this cold weather, with temperatures of minus 3°C forecast for tonight again. People did not realise the tax had increased until they were hit with the higher price of oil on Monday morning. The Deputies I am talking about are voting to put people out of work. They are voting to cull large numbers of cattle. That is not scaremongering; it is a fact. They are voting for higher food prices and higher electricity prices.

I raised earlier the issue of utility companies and the way they are fleecing companies even though the business premises are closed and not being used. The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Varadkar, denied having any responsibility for that issue. He told them to do a deal with the utility companies. What is the purpose of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities? What is the point in having a regulator if it is not going to step in?

The Deputies voting for the Bill are voting to end the possibility of young local people obtaining planning permission on family-owned lands in rural areas. This is a very important issue. Young people want to be able to have a house in which to live in rural Ireland. They respect the community. The planners are flooded with work at the moment. I have to encourage anyone who wishes to build in rural Ireland to apply immediately, before the new plans come into force in 18 months time, because after that it will be a no-go area. That is putting significant pressure on the planners but it is a fact. They have told me that themselves.

A vote for the Bill is a vote to end the cutting of turf, which is a traditional solid fuel source for ordinary people. These Deputies are either with rural Ireland or they are about keeping their party in government. They cannot have it both ways. The game is up.

The provisions in the Bill aimed at meeting the emissions reductions will destroy agriculture as we know it. That has been well-documented by research, research that has been conveniently ignored by the Government. For example, analysis published on 27 March in the Irish Farmers' Journal, a very reputable publication that is treated as gospel in the farming community, suggests that half the cattle and cow herd would need to be culled by 2030. That is what the analysis stated. The Deputies I am talking about come in here and tell us that is not true. They love to quote from newspapers when it suits them. It would mean a cull of approximately 3.4 million cattle and cows. It would mean that a farmer with 100 cows would basically have to cull the herd down to 50 cows. It is shocking. It is a fact. That analysis published in the Irish Farmers' Journalhas not been contested. The Bill would mean even deeper culls in 2030. It certainly means an end to growing herd sizes and is completely in contrast with the objectives outlined by the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and others who told people only a year or two ago to double their herds.

The Bill represents a blunt and callous approach and risks off-shoring our food production to countries that do not have emissions targets and can cut down their rainforests. It would bring thousands of tonnes of beef from Brazil into Europe. It is total pathetic nonsense.

The Bill fails to recognise that Irish farmers are the most carbon-efficient food producers in the world owing to our grass-based model of food production. It is important that this sustainable production is not restricted as it would lead to increased international climate emissions being created. The Mercosur trade deal, for example, will allow the import of 99,000 tonnes of beef into the EU at a time beef prices are on the floor and the cartels in the beef industry are doing nothing about it.

Recently published research from the University of Oxford shows that food miles, namely, the transportation of food between countries, contributes a greater impact on greenhouse gases. That is a fact. The Minister knows that, as well as I do. The production of briquettes in the midlands has been banned on the basis of a so-called just transition. This is the most unjust thing to do to the families in that region. Deputy Carol Nolan is doing her best to fight it. We saw the impact recently on a businessman who had been operating for 30 years developing the bike industry. Allegations have been made that the person who got the tender is related to the Minister, but I do not pay any respect to that because the tendering process is a tendering process and it has to be respected. However, the Minister might want to clarity if there is any connection to him, because it is not fair if it is not true. It is callous and wrong. That man has no chance now. We are supposed to be encouraging businesspeople and entrepreneurs. We must lead our people out of this and give them hope. We need to be honest and transparent with them instead of closing down the peat factories and banning turf cutting. The same was done with the gas and oil and we are now importing them. It makes no sense. A child in kindergarten could understand that never mind us here in this Parliament.

See this speech in context