Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As member of the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action, I have a particular interest in this session. I would like to thank the many experts who came in to talk to us over the last year. On the crises in climate and biodiversity, we certainly have a wealth of experience and wisdom on which to draw.

I have always had an interest in climate change and doing my bit. Essentially, I was doing what I was told by legislators and it was an education for me. As a legislator now, the responsibility is ours and ours alone because if we do not act with urgency, we will be at sea and we know that the sea is rising.

My party is not in favour of carbon taxes when there is no affordable alternative. On carbon taxes, my comrade, Senator Lynn Boylan, pointed out how the hole in the ozone layer was not tackled by consumer choice and individual behaviour, nor was it tackled by carbon taxes. I refer to the fact that Shell and BP endorse carbon taxes. We should sit up and take note of that. We did not slap a tax on products with CFC gases and leave it up consumers to change their behaviour. Instead, it was tackled by strong legislation and protocols, and the eventual banning of CFCs at production stage, and by targeting the producers and not the consumer. We need equally strong legislation now to help to reduce emissions and achieve a just transition in the process. A just transition cannot just be an order given to people, but sometimes it feels that way. We cannot have a two-speed society. We need to keep people on board, particularly those who will not be able to afford the actions to tackle climate change that is coming. One section of society is preparing for climate change with solar panels, EVs, heat pumps and insulation, and another significantly larger section is unable to turn the heat on for the children in the winter. These people are paying through the nose, proportionately, for energy in addition to paying through the nose, proportionately, for rent and housing. Now they are worried about blackouts. It is completely bananas and very dangerous for social cohesion also.

The latest Oxfam carbon equality report cites the top 10% of the Irish State's population by income as emitting almost as much as the bottom 50% combined. It is the same old story in this State with emissions: the more we have, the more we make. Members of the Dáil must quickly make good on decisions on public transport and green hydrogen for heavy goods vehicles. We need to act urgently on matters that change easily and quickly, such as the public transport within our control. I spoke recently to a student from Prosperous, north Kildare, who travels to Maynooth University. He gets a local link bus from Prosperous at 8 a.m. regardless of what time his lectures actually start at in Maynooth University, and there is no bus back to Prosperous until the evening. He told me that he intends to buy a car as soon as he can but he will not be able to afford an EV. In trying to make public transport the obvious choice for our young people, we need to make it convenient for them. School transport is another area where we need a radical roll-out of school buses in order to reduce single-car journeys.

I refer again to Kilcock, north Kildare, where there is a rail line but no promise of the DART+. It is a thriving town with a growing population who are eager to get out of the car and onto the Dart+. It is crazy to plan for the Dart+ to go as far as Maynooth only, while building a large station west of there to house the DART+ fleet and ignoring Kilcock. Kilcock is exactly 5 km west of Maynooth. Given that the rail line continues beyond Maynooth, it is mad not to extend this project as far as Kilcock.

I do not have much time remaining. I am disappointed I did not get to speak about microgeneration because my cumann played a part in that. It is not just me who is out of time; the planet will be if we do not make changes.

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