Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We all recognise the urgent need to reduce emissions but our children and future generations will not thank us for what is emerging, namely, this negotiating and lobbying battleground that sees urban and rural dwellers pitted against each other. They will also not thank us for the urban-rural dweller narrative that is being created by the refusal of the Government to see the disproportionate impact that its view of climate action will have. Rural dwellers, with their solid fuel fires and diesel cars, are being pitted against urban dwellers with access to public transport and alternative heating options.

The reality is that all change matters but when local economies are affected, be they in Ballymore or Bali, statistically it is the working poor who pay the highest price and are disproportionately affected by the negative effects of climate change. Across the midlands, there is little evidence on the ground that just transition is approaching anything that could be described as "just", not when we see beef deals that will hasten the demise of rainforests but support beef barons. We also see a retrofit programme and an electric car scheme that are untenable for so many of my constituents. If environmental policies are to succeed, they must be underpinned by equality and justice and tackle the economic model which concentrates power and wealth in the hands of a few.

I want to highlight one specific sector, namely, public transport. Every year, the school transport scheme is substantially oversubscribed. Sinn Féin demonstrated how we could have a scheme that would remove tens of thousands of car journeys from our roads each day, helping to reduce carbon emissions. When something makes sense for the climate and reduces the burdens on families but also makes sense fiscally but is still not being done, that is when frustration grows and the Government loses the support of people.

For example, in August, in my constituency of Longford-Westmeath, our bus service was slashed. That is something that began a number of years ago. It is that tried and tested method of reduce the service, reduce the number of towns it serves, reduce the frequency and, finally, reduce the service to nothing.

See this speech in context