Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Until we have some technology, which remains very far away and may never arrive, sustainable growth of the airline sector is an oxymoron. Flying is the most carbon-intensive method of travel, and that is not even to mention private jets, which are even more carbon intensive, given all that weight taking off, fuelled by fossil fuels, for just a few passengers. Flying is the most unsustainable way to travel, yet the Government believes we can expand it sustainably. We cannot. This is a choice. We expand aviation or we seriously try to achieve the climate targets. The latter means saying we should not be expanding our airports and passenger numbers and should instead be investing in ferries, rail and so on and limiting – I would say “banning” – the use of private jets. I do not see how an expansion is compatible with what the Government has signed up to in terms of cuts in the transport sector.

See this speech in context