Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Government does not want transition; it just wants tax. Every time someone turns, it is tax. In the Minister's last address to us here on COP, he mentioned the trillions of euro made by fossil fuel companies. However, he forgot to say that it was great because we are charging people 50% tax on that fossil fuel in this country without transition.

The Minister wears glasses and I wear glasses for driving. When I come to Dublin, I stay outside Dublin. I come in here every morning and the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and I queue in the traffic coming into Dublin because the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, does not have the transport to get people around Dublin. There are 2.2 million vehicles in the country and he cannot even get it right in Dublin. He cannot provide adequate transport for young families who take their children to school or crèche. If they get sick, the parents need to go back and collect them. The Minister cannot provide it in Dublin, but he reckons he will do it all around the country and penalise every person who has no other opportunity but to drive.

He then looked to increasing the tolls. Along with my fellow Members from the Rural Independent Group I was in Cavan last night to launch Shane P. O'Reilly's campaign for the next general election. I also travelled from Limerick through four tolls to get to Cavan. Who is taking the money?

In rural areas throughout the country out of respect, we go to the funerals of the families and friends of the people we represent. What does the Government do? It taxes us to go to pay our respects at funerals. Limerick has been in four all-Ireland finals in the last five years. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, cannot even give us real transport to get us here and therefore we must drive. That is why they call it the sea of green coming up to Dublin.

The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is a failed Minister. He fails to understand the people of Ireland and fails to understand transition. Not one person in this country does not believe in global warming. Not one person in this country does not realise that we must do something. However, everyone in the country believes in transition, but the Minister and his Government do not. If the infrastructure is put in, it will transition itself into public transport and will reduce the amount of emissions.

Other Deputies have spoken tonight about the toll at the port. How many tonnes of emissions is it causing at the ports? The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, came to Limerick and went to Foynes. He ran around all the places. He said it was lovely in Limerick and that we need to get things going. Since I was elected to this House, I have been asking him to get Foynes Port, the deepest port in Europe, up and running but it has not happened. Whose pocket is he in up here? They say that he is allowing all the transport come to Dublin at seven miles to the gallon coming up and down the motorway. He is supposed to represent the whole country in transition and he is a failed Minister. He cannot do it.

He said he went to COP - to tell the truth what he has done is cop a bull. He has done nothing but brought hardship for every person in this country, including the people of Dublin by failing to give them transport. He has also failed to provide transport to his own Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media who spends two hours in a queue of traffic with me every day. It is 11 miles from here to the Red Cow interchange. It takes me an hour and 40 minutes in high traffic because of the Minister's failure to free up the traffic in Dublin, which is overpopulated. It is a failure by him and his Government.

The Minister then decided to close half the streets even around Leinster House. Now we cannot even get around the streets. It takes me 40 minutes to get around to the other side so I can actually head towards the Red Cow interchange. Again, it is a failure of Government. I asked the Minister to look at the traffic light system here. When one light goes red, the next four lights are green on a straight road. I asked him to look at the timing of them. Again, it would save emissions because they will get traffic moving. He failed to do that and he stands up here then and claims they are doing this, that and the other for the country.

The Minister spoke about taking Ministers out to COP27. He took one Minister of State who looks after forestry and dairy in this country.

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