Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

To respond to Deputy O'Rourke, yesterday the Government considered the climate action plan for 2024 which has now been published. Next year we will begin the process of the allocation of the unallocated emissions. We have given consideration, and the Minister Deputy Ryan has shared this with the House previously, to a number of ways this can be addressed, including technology. I am very happy to exchange further information on this in terms of where our thinking is at. I will also get Deputy O'Rourke a direct timeline for the 51%.

To respond to Deputy Barry, I oppose the far right in everything I do. I have a different political view on this but it is important that parties of the centre do not allow vacuums in debates on policies such as migration and stop vacuums that are exploited by the far right. The best way of keeping the far right out of power is to continue to elect centrist parties so that the EPP has enough critical mass in the next European Parliament. Obviously we have a very different view on this. The people will decide in the election.

I was agreeing with Deputy Boyd Barrett for the first couple of sentences and then we had a point of disagreement. I do believe we have to bring people with us when it comes to climate. One of the big challenges we face at present is that often, and I do not just mean for us in Ireland but for the world, climate can seem terribly lectury, so to speak. The science is very clear. There is a climate emergency, the planet is on fire and we need to take significant action. I am fully signed up for all of the climate targets. When one portrays this as meaning the family farm is no longer viable, this zero-sum game does not work. We have to incentivise and help people to make the transition so they can continue to produce food and have food security so we can continue to have jobs and we can look at the opportunities in terms of jobs in the green economy.

Where we diverge is on the issue of taxation. By ring-fencing the money we have received we have seen significant benefit. I will quote the figures off the top of my head and I believe them to be correct. I heard them yesterday and I do not have them written in front of me. I believe we are now seeing 1,000 homes a week being retrofitted in Ireland and we are seeing approximately 100 homes a week putting solar panels on their roofs. We are beginning to see real progress on the scale we need to see in retrofitting. Be they local authority homes or private homes, it is being funded through the carbon tax. We have a different view on how to fund it but we are putting the money from the carbon tax into retrofitting, fuel poverty and the fuel allowance.

To respond to Deputy Murphy, we have taken a number of steps on reducing the cost of public transport for everybody, and we are going beyond the reduction for everyone with an even larger targeted reduction for students and young people. This is working well. We have seen a significant increase in people using public transport. We have also rolled out many new transport routes, particularly in rural Ireland. There are no plans at present to make public transport free but I am very encouraged by the positive reaction we have seen to a reduction in fares.

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