Patricia Ryan (Kildare South, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We often hear the Government pay lip service to climate action. We need real action that will make a difference and we need it worldwide. We need it in Europe and throughout the island of Ireland but we especially need it at local level. We need joined-up thinking. Everyone has a part to play and they must play it. There can be no opt-out for the rich and famous, such as the proposed aviation fuel tax exemption for private jets.

We must have a just transition. Ireland is supposed to be the sixth richest country in the world but we have almost 700,000 people living below the poverty line. They must be supported if we are to have real and fair climate action.

We know that Ireland cannot become a green economy overnight when 87% of our energy supplies still come from fossil fuels. There is no point in increasing carbon taxes on struggling workers and families. It may lead to low energy consumption but at what price will that come?

This Government should be ashamed of itself. We are living in a country where people are going to bed either cold or hungry and having to choose between food and fuel. A poem asks, "For what Died the Sons of Róisín?". They did not die for that.

We need an energy roadmap which reduces our reliance on fossil fuels. The war in Ukraine should be a wake-up call that stirs us into action. Prices of over €2 per litre for petrol and diesel are not sustainable.

A laughable plan revealed recently by an inept Government is not the answer.

How out of touch is it to suggest that driving slower is a solution? I commend the work of Monasterevin Sustainable Energy Committee for its programme of events last Saturday. It was absolutely brilliant. We need progressive ideas but none is coming from the Government. People in Kildare and Laois would use public transport if we had reliable services and it was affordable. At the moment people in Laois and south Kildare are driving to Sallins in north Kildare to avail of the short-hop zone which completely defeats the purpose. The answer is simple: extend the short-hop zone to Portarlington. The Arrow service must be affordable. Enough of the duplicity from the Government, councillors and Senators who say that they support the proposal. Just do it. It is time for the Minister to get off the pot and get on with it.

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