Brian Leddin (Limerick City, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

What we value as a nation matters. We had a very good discussion last night in this House on Afghanistan, with many insightful contributions. What I heard was a general acceptance we feel strongly that helping people of other nations is an important part of our national identity. In our decade of centenaries, we stand proud in the world, providing leadership on issues of justice and equality. I repeat the point I made last night. We can and we must dramatically reduce our emissions to play our part in making the future safer for people in countries like Afghanistan.

We could point to our size and say our contribution to climate change does not matter. We could also do this for issues such as welcoming refugees and humanitarian relief. As a small country, we can always try to opt out because the magnitude of the difference we can make is not big, but values matter. Irish values matter, and what Ireland does to protect and support people in poorer countries is not a nice-to-have extra but a fundamental expression of who we are.

We are proud internationally about our commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51% from 2018 levels, and we have rightly received praise on the international stage for our ambition, but now, after passing the climate Act which gives us the framework, we need to get down to work. It will to be very difficult. We have done many of the easy measures already. What is left will be very challenging. Setting the target was hard work, but agreeing the measures will be immeasurably harder.

I want to speak briefly about the parliamentary process. I am proud to be a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action and to serve as its Chair. Many of my colleagues are scheduled to speak on this topic today and I look forward to listening to their contributions. The committee is one of the hardest working in the Oireachtas, and members are engaged and willing to commit considerable time to our work. As we go through our first cycle of carbon budgets and a climate action plan, we must support our Parliament in playing its part. We should look at the parliamentary supports for the Exchequer budget and see if we need to introduce similar structures for the carbon budgets in order that all Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas are supported in playing a constructive role, because we need all the talents of both Government and Opposition if we are to succeed in the task before us.

We have made some good starts. The increase in carbon tax last year was shown by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, to decrease inequality because of how we ring-fenced it to support farmers and people on low incomes. Despite earlier criticism, we have now shown how carbon tax can be a powerful tool for income redistribution. There are other areas where we can make positive changes. There is considerable income inequality among farmers. Some dairy farms are very profitable, in contrast to farmers in beef and other sectors, many of whom are running their farms at a loss due to low prices. A shift to rewarding farming practices that are less intensive and provide high nature value offers the opportunity to introduce more fairness in the sector.

We have significant transportation deprivation in our rural areas. I was speaking to someone in TU Dublin who is doing research into this area, and they are looking at rural villages where 30% of people did not own a car, yet there was not a single timetabled bus service either. We can change our transport system in order that we focus on universal levels of service throughout the country and invest in services everyone can use rather than only the people who can afford private transport. In housing, we can, over time, eliminate fuel poverty by transforming our housing stock and creating local employment to create warm homes that do not need fossil fuels.

We have, however, to make many difficult decisions. The export-led economic model for agriculture, in which we compete on volumes, must be changed. The argument, that if we do not export beef and dairy, other countries will, is reductive and simplistic and neither recognises market dynamics nor our moral obligations to poorer countries. We need to reduce car usage. We are at the limits of our ambition when it comes to electric vehicles and they will not be enough over the next decade. Quite bluntly, we need to make it more difficult to drive, especially in our cities, towns and villages, and give space on our roads and streets back to people on foot, in wheelchairs and buggies and on bikes. Our communities should not be thoroughfares for the private car. We need to build houses only where you can walk or cycle to the shops or to primary school.

We can achieve our climate ambition and there will be many positive environmental, social and economic outcomes, as a result of the changes we make. On the international stage, we have shown that Ireland’s leadership matters. On climate, we must show the same leadership to fulfil our commitments to a low-carbon future.

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