Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Investment in this type of awareness campaign but also the physical infrastructure the Minister of State talks about is mission critical. It is not just an environmental or climate action policy; it is also a public health policy and a social justice policy. If we invest in infrastructure in this way, it is good for the kids. They get to walk or scoot to school. They arrive more awake and have cleaner air. It is good for the parents that they are not dropping the kids to the school gate. It is also good for our wider prosperity and eases congestion, which is to the good as well. We all know what happens to traffic levels when the schools are out; they reduce significantly. In Tramore, aside from the city-based traffic, a lot of the traffic is around the schools. Then there is the planet-wide dividend where we are doing things like reducing emissions but also improving air quality. We really have to go after this because it affects our smallest, most vulnerable group who are literally at the wrong height in terms of these tailpipe emissions.

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