Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Just transition is a phrase which has and continues to be used by the Government and activists when it comes to becoming more environmentally sustainable. However, as I have said when I have spoken on the matter, I believe our transition is unjust. Just last week we saw the latest contradiction put forward by Government. On the one hand the Government pressed ahead with increases in the excise duty on petrol and diesel and then on the other hand, a Government agency, the NTA, released proposals which would discourage people from using the Rosslare to Dublin railway line.

I spoke previously about hydrogenated vegetable oil fuel and the possibilities of exploring this as an alternative for motorists, delivery companies, haulage companies and all of those companies which need to use a lot of fuel. The problem with the Government’s approach is that it is penalising people for using petrol and diesel consistently with excise duty increases. We saw this arise last week. We will see more in coming months, as the Minister for Finance confirmed today, in excise duty and carbon tax but these penalties are coming before viable alternatives are in place. We can talk about electric cars all we want but sales are slowing. Depots across Europe are now full with electric cars that cannot be sent anywhere because nobody wants them. The second-hand market for electric cars is almost non-existent. People will spend a lot of money on them and not be sure about how much they will be worth when it comes to doing a trade. There are still outstanding questions about what happens to the electric car after its life is over. What carbon emissions are produced in the manufacturer of the same electric car? The problem with the Government's approach to this and many other things is trying to run before we can walk. The alternatives must be in place for people and they must be feasible alternatives for it to be a just transition. I was one of only about 12 TDs who voted against the Climate Action Bill. The reason I did so was that the Government's current approach is ultimately not going to have the impact that was intended.

If we look at farming, and the Minister with responsibility for that is in the House, in the context of this Future Ireland Fund Infrastructure, Climate and Nature Fund Bill, it is important to note that farmers continue to be restricted in their work about what they can do; when they can do it; how they can do it; and how much of it they can do. A whole raft of different regulations curtailing their business is in place, much of it handed down to us by our European Union masters. What must be recognised is that Ireland has one of the greenest most efficient, from an emissions point of view, food sources that we will ever have. If we decide to penalise farmers and put further difficulties upon them, they will respond by going out of business and producing less and what will happen as a result is that we will need to import more food products from countries which do it less efficiently. I think that will happen this year because we have yet to sow potatoes.

We should be incentivising increased production in Ireland and ensuring that the farmers of Ireland have a future. We see with the weather in recent weeks the challenges facing farmers and supports that will be needed by them. We also need to prioritise our tree planting. Targets have consistently been missed over the last few years. The licensing system has not worked as well as it should have and overall it seems there is not sufficient focus on benefits from planting trees.

For example, according to an independent report, in 2022, just 2,273 ha of new forestry was planted, which is less than a third of the 8,000 ha the Government pledged to plant each year. We are not getting the basics right and are focusing too much on punishing people. We know the benefits forestry brings, yet we cannot get it right.

We also need to get our public transport system sorted out. In a number of towns, the main bus stop is a long walk away from the main train station, and there is very little link-up between buses and trains. We do not even have a train, metro or any kind of railway near our airports.

The most recent measure is the plastic bottles deposit scheme. In theory, plastic bottle return is not necessarily a bad idea, but it is clearly not working in practice. I have seen people in supermarkets bringing in bags full of plastic bottles, going over to the machine and putting in a few bottles, but the machine then starts to reject the others. People end up having to take those bottles home. Whatever we expect will be the case in future, this is costing people 25 cent a bottle. That does not bode well for the future.

When people are asked in opinion polls, and when I speak to people, their main priorities do not seem to be the same as those of the Government. The Government is out of touch. People want it to succeed on housing and healthcare and get to grips with immigration and the cost of living. I wish the Taoiseach, and the new Ministers in their portfolios, the best of luck in their roles. It is to be hoped that it will mark a change in the approach and focus of the Government. Until now, there has been far too much imposition of taxes on people but very little change.

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