Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I also thank Deputy Fitzmaurice and the Independent Group for bringing forward this motion. I found it informative. I was surprised at the number of rights and leases available to people in rural communities. The fact that there are so many shows the complexity of this issue, as well as how intrinsic it is to rural life and to many thousands of communities across the country. That is also demonstrated by this system having gone on for so many years and with so many different regimes having been applied to it.

This is the third time I have spoken on this issue in recent weeks. Previously, I spoke about how frustrating I found the lack of clarity regarding what was being proposed. I said that what was incredibly frustrating was that the lack of clarity, and the concern that ensued from it, undermined the fundamental message this regulation was trying to convey. This message concerns air pollution and public health. A climate message is also embedded in this regulation, as is a biodiversity message. All those environmental messages were lost. They became tangled up in this huge political fight because of a lack of clarity from the Minister and the Government regarding this matter.

I had some element of sympathy in that regard because it can be difficult to get this type of messaging across sometimes. My sympathy, however, waned quite a lot after I read the public consultation on the development of the new solid fuel regulations for Ireland.

I presume this is consultation the Government did on this issue. This is the summary of the responses. I had a quick read of it. Interestingly, 3,500 people responded to that consultation. I have worked for Government bodies where I have run public consultations and that is a massive number of people to engage on any topic. That in itself highlights how important this issue is to communities across the country. Probably the most stark thing that jumped out at me was on the third page, where the fourth paragraph notes that there appears to have been a significant level of misunderstanding regarding the purpose of the consultation and the scope of the regulatory proposals. A large number of respondents made submissions outlining their opposition to an outright ban on all solid fuels or a ban on turf cutting, despite the fact that no such bans were proposed in the consultation documents, press releases, town hall meetings or any statements made by the Minister. The document states that while this misinterpretation had the effect of eliciting a number of responses that were not fully relevant, it did provide some further context and understanding of certain areas of public opinion. It goes on to talk about the different issues that were raised during the consultation, including health, fuel poverty, retrofitting, traditional cultural attachment, cultural awareness and communication.

The Minister was told this was going to be a mess. It was clear from the consultation that people did not understand what he was doing or why he was doing it. Yet he continued and because he refused to listen to the 3,500 voices of those who took time out of their day to engage in this process, it is in the first page that there was a lack of clarity and major confusion about that. Because he refused to listen to them, we are now here at the point where we have had to debate this issue three times in the Dáil. We are in the middle of a cost of fuel crisis and a cost of living crisis. We have a war that is waging in Europe. We have climate and biodiversity crises. We are about to hand over €1 billion to a private healthcare entity where there is a lack of clarity about who is going to control it. We have so many issues to be discussing yet this is the third time we are discussing this matter. The Government was told by the public that what it was proposing was unclear. Given it was so avoidable, I find it absolutely unforgivable that it did not listen to those people. It is a pity the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan is not here at the moment. He spoke earlier and said that the public consultation made it clear and that he listened to various voices. I cannot see any evidence of that whatsoever.

The specific issues raised by people included concerns in respect of fuel poverty, the availability of affordable alternatives to solid fuel, and that the cost of retrofitting is too high. Strident regulation of solid fuels would constitute an attack on rural Ireland and traditional home heating practices. Everything we have been saying, all the Members of the Opposition and in fact Members of the Government have been saying for the past two weeks, the public had already told the Minister and he did not listen. We cannot afford to allow that to happen. Dealing with climate and environmental crises and air pollution is going to involve many challenges. There will be messaging and financial challenges. People can be fearful of change. There are many things we will need to do. My goodness, please, the Government must listen to people when it does a consultation. I do not see the point of spending money on a consultation. I am not even sure if it was read by any person in government because I have not heard anyone else talking about this document.

I also want to mention the issue of just transition. I welcome the fact that the Minister of State engaged with the committee on the Circular Economy, Waste Management (Amendment) and Minerals Development (Amendment) Bill 2022 and included poverty proofing and disability proofing of it. I reiterate my disappointment that the just transition principles were not included and were opposed, as they were also opposed in the Climate Bill. If the just transition principles had been applied in this instance, I do not think we would be here today.

I understand that the primary purpose of this is a public health and air pollution objective. The Social Democrats introduced a Bill last year on car idling at school gates. It is a robust Bill and has been developed and been through the Bills process. It is a win-win for everybody, for the environment, children's health, and for the people who will use less fuel because there is no idling. It is also an issue that Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party have all at some point said they would implement if they got into government. I ask that they look at those wins and move on the Bill. As an Opposition Deputy it is highly unlikely I will get it any further than to introduce it. I ask that the Minister of State does that. If his objective is to have clean air, here is a simple measure he can undertake that has already essentially been approved and given the green light by his party members.

I also wish to reiterate the calls for a strategy on fuel poverty. It is disgraceful that it is three years out of date, particularly in the times people are facing at the moment. I ask that the Government moves quickly on that and gets it done.

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