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

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. Sinn Féin recognises the urgency needed to tackle climate change, we back our national greenhouse emissions target and we worked constructively throughout the extensive consideration of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill. It is worth saying that unlike some in government who argued against interim targets, for example, now deemed an essential element of the plan, Sinn Féin argued for them. We agree on the need to act now and on our overall targets. In that respect, there is much we agree with in principle and practice in the climate action plan. We agree but we wonder why the Government lacks ambition and impetus, why it acts so slowly and, worse, why it acts contrary to the stated position. Elsewhere, this climate action plan is devoid of credibility, in particular when it comes to financing €125 billion in private finance, which has to come from somewhere, and related delivery. There is no shortage of plans and this needs to be not just another one.

Sinn Féin will continue to push for a just transition. This is something that, in the first instance, must be delivered for communities in the midlands, who have been listening to promises for a long time. Just transition must be extended beyond the midlands to all communities and all sectors. For some, the transition between a high and a low carbon economy is the difference between a new petrol Land Rover or a new Tesla, or a switch to public transport. For others, it is a matter of being able to heat their home, feed themselves and their family or having a job to go to in the morning. Just transition needs to move beyond rhetoric and I do not see that in the climate action plan. I do not believe the Government has done enough to show communities and sectors that a just transition is on the cards. It has not set out a vision for just transition in this climate action plan.

On energy, I welcome the new commitment in the plan to increase our target on renewable energy to 80% of our needs by 2030. Ireland is blessed with massive potential for offshore wind but, unfortunately, decades of under-ambition and painfully slow regulatory development have suffocated the exploitation of this vital natural resource. Almost 20 years on from its construction, Arklow Bank phase 1 remains Ireland's only offshore wind farm, with an output of just 25 MW.

That is a damning indictment. Even now, on the brink of 2022, we still do not have a legislative framework in place for offshore wind generation. The industry representative body, Wind Energy Ireland, has warned that we have a narrowing window to meet the 2030 target and that was before it was increased to 80%. It highlights various areas that need to be addressed by government, including fixing the foreshore licensing system; providing more resources to relevant agencies; progressing renewable electricity support scheme, RESS, auctions and the maritime area planning Bill; establishing an offshore grid steering committee; strengthening our electricity grid; and developing specific ports to ensure offshore wind farms can be built from our island.

The lack of action is already having consequences. Equinor pulled out of Ireland, citing the regulatory processes as one aspect of its decision for doing so. The Government did not bat an eyelid in response. This is a raging red alarm. Similarly, the guidelines for offshore wind are 15 years old. This has led to bad planning and animosity between some developers and rural communities. If the number of parliamentary questions and council motions being put forward by Government party representatives is anything to go by, I can say that it is accepted across the political spectrum that the guidelines are out of date and in desperate need of updating.

Meanwhile, the Government dithers and the same can be said about microgeneration. Communities have their hands up willing and wanting to play their part and the Government slaps them down. Similarly, hydrogen can play a key role in our energy transition. It could potentially provide a solution for some of the heavy industries and sectors where battery power is not feasible. Excess wind energy can be used to run electrolysers to produce green hydrogen. The fact that it can be stored and transported makes it particularly attractive to fill gaps in energy production when the wind does not blow, for example. Despite this, Ireland is one of only two European countries that does not have a hydrogen strategy in place. I cannot understand this. Is it a lack of capacity, expertise or ambition? I do not know what it is but something is lacking. The climate action plan fails to take hydrogen seriously. This is a mistake and one I would ask the Minister to act upon.

The MaREI institute has developed the TIMES-Ireland model to map out paths to 51% renewable energy generation by 2030, net zero by 2050 and beyond to 2070. It shows that it can be achieved, which is positive, and that the most efficient way to do it is to reduce demand. This is referred to as the low demand scenario. Then I think about Government Deputies cheerleading for data centres while the Government heaps carbon tax increases onto people who have no alternatives and no public transport, electric vehicles, EVs, heat pumps or retrofitted homes. We know that a significant majority of households use kerosene or solid fuels to heat their homes on these cold winter nights yet the Government rolls out the red carpet for data centres, which hoover up enormous amounts of energy. At the weekend, we read in the Business Postthat when Google said "Jump" Enda Kenny said "How high?". Why would we expect anything different from Facebook or Amazon?

I have been consistently putting forward ideas to kick-start emission reductions in the transport sector. School bus transport is significantly oversubscribed year on year but the current target outlined in Bus Éireann's sustainability strategy would only see a 20% increases in bus places by 2030. That is the equivalent of just 1,000 extra places each year. We are turning thousands of children away from public transport each year and putting them back in private cars, which makes no sense at all. Public transport fares are a huge barrier for many people and we are not seeing the ambition needed to reduce costs for people to encourage them to take the bus, train or tram, nor are we seeing the ambition to develop long overdue public transport infrastructure. Some mega projects continue to be delayed and some have been deferred into oblivion. Connecting Ireland is welcome and I do what the Opposition is supposed to do when we welcome a proposition. We encourage our constituents to engage with it and my constituents are ready to avail of the services. The difficulty is they will have to wait because funding is backloaded, with just 10% of funding allocated in year one and no guarantee of future funding.

This plan needs to be delivered on. The objectives of delivering on the emissions reductions are of deep and legitimate concern. We do not see a credible plan to get us there, bring communities with us and achieve those targets. The Minister of State needs to listen to the Opposition, communities and different sectors. They want to play their part but they need to be enabled to do so.

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