Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I have always tried to be constructive when it comes to climate, the environment and nature. I hope the Ministers agree with that. It is an area I am passionate about and an area where I have spent my entire adult life either working or studying. Yesterday's budget was the most disingenuous ever when it comes to matters of climate and nature. Everyone was so happy to see the headline-grabbing figure of €3 billion for a climate and nature fund.

What people did not see was the fine print which indicates that this will not be in place until 2026, three years from now. We are in the middle of a climate crisis. We are in the middle of a biodiversity crisis, and time is running out. I heard one of the Ministers say that this fund is scheduled for introduction in 2026 because the Government wants to future-proof it. The way you future-proof against climate change and mitigate and adapt for climate change and for the biodiversity loss we are seeing is by investing now, not by setting aside in a bank account €3 billion that will come into play in 2026. You invest now. Unfortunately, that is not what this Government is doing. You invest in wind energy. We have huge potential in this country. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications has spoken about it. There is huge potential when it comes to offshore wind. You make the State a major player when it comes to renewable energy and wind energy. You make sure that in 20 or 30 years' time, when the benefits and finances are being reaped from that resource, it is the State that accrues those benefits, not developers or overseas corporations but the State that has a major stake in that offshore wind resource. Have we not learned from setting aside our fisheries resource? We just give our resources away to other entities, countries or corporations and then people suffer and our finances suffer. You invest in wind energy. You invest in solar energy. You invest in public transport. You invest in national parks. I am not talking about paper parks; I am talking about national parks where biodiversity, not farming, which is the case at the moment, is the key priority. You invest in communities. You invest in farming.

What is happening with the nitrates derogation? What is happening to the supports for those farmers who the Government has walked to the cliff edge and is just going to stand and watch fall over? We knew, and the Government knew, that this was coming down the road for these farmers. Where are the supports for them? Two reservoirs in Wicklow in the past week have had algae blooms, namely, Blessington and Roundwood. The crisis is here and it is now. The Government is budgeting far too little, and 2026 is far too late to deal with this. The Government needs to invest now. The clock is ticking and the Government is not moving fast enough. The Minister is pretending that this climate fund is the answer but that is not the case. He needs to make sure that investment is brought in now so we can mitigate against all those issues coming down the track.

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