Results 13,801-13,820 of 36,762 for speaker:Pearse Doherty
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: I thank the witnesses for their presentations and their attendance. I do not want to belabour the fact that there are no costings. Ironically, this is the Committee on Budgetary Oversight but we cannot do much oversight when there are no numbers in the document. I welcome the fact that we have a plan and realise our views on parts of the plan may differ. The Department very much backs...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: Perhaps some of the other guests can answer. There has been talk of price signals and all of the rest. What signal do we send to an industry when we say we are open to receiving applications to drill for oil off our coast? These are the same companies. In fairness, Professor FitzGerald has accurately pointed out the level of economists who supported the carbon tax but they are also...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: How long should the Minister continue to offer major oil companies licences to drill for oil off our shores? The same argument can be made in ten or 20 years time.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: The Government has set a target of retrofitting half a million homes between now and 2030. That sounds impressive but when one analyses the detail one soon discovers that the figure is only 5,000 more homes per year than was originally laid out in the national development plan. Plus none of the homes, or very few of them, will be deep retrofitted because a B2 rating does not allow for this....
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: I am running out of time. The debate has opened up and there is a focus on the carbon tax. Economists in America signed a letter about the "Green New Deal" to put the focus on carbon taxes, which is supported by also by the industry. It is really a debate about whether we need to be investing and whether the State needs to play a larger role, such as rolling out deep retrofitting, more...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: There is the issue of the "Green New Deal" versus market solutions and the need for the State to step up investment -----
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: If one wants behavioural changes, taxes can work as long as the alternative is within reach.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: It is a good job he is no longer here.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: The climate action plan includes a target of bringing the price of diesel into line with that of petrol. Is there a timeframe for that? I ask the witnesses for their views on the fuel rebate scheme for the haulage industry in that context. Do they believe it should continue or would it need to be modified and increased to support the haulage sector?
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: The key question relates to the diesel rebate, which is an important issue in the haulage sector. It was a major point of discussion for the sector in the run-up to the latest budget because there was an anticipation that the Government would equalise diesel and petrol excise rates or increase carbon tax, or, indeed, do both. That would have had an impact on the haulage sector. My question...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: Does anyone else have a view? In fairness, this is a climate change policy. It is about trying to move people from-----
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: It relates to the polluter pays principle as well. Is there an alternative available at this point in time for trucks? There are new standards and vehicles are being built to comply with them but no electric vehicles can take goods from here to France and back again, as far as I am aware.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: Can I go back to-----
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: There are two elements to the target for electric vehicles. There is a target of 500,000 electric cars by 2030, with the rest being hybrids that use fossil fuels plus an electrical charge. It is not quite the 1 million vehicles headline that we have been hearing about. The target is 500,0000 electric cars on our roads by 2030, with hybrids making up the rest.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: There is no fossil fuel component-----
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: The ranges for those vehicles are only 30 km to 40 km.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: Anyone travelling from here to Monaghan will use fossil fuels in the car.
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: I just sought clarification on that. Dr. FitzGerald referred to incentives earlier and we have advocated an increase in incentives in this area. What do we have at the moment? There are approximately 4,000 electric cars on our roads. Many people want to do the right thing but there are challenges in respect of the infrastructure, certainty and so on. Despite those challenges, people are...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: I wish to make one point. It may be the cheaper option for those who are buying new, but there is a large cohort - the majority - who will never be able to buy and who have never bought a new car because they cannot afford one. They will always buy a second-hand car. Then there are issues with electric vehicles that are being sold on and the supports available in that regard. I am focused...
- Committee on Budgetary Oversight: Budgetary and Fiscal Implications of Climate Change: Discussion (18 Jun 2019)
Pearse Doherty: I have two final points.