Grace O'Sullivan (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am the Green Party Senator and a member of the Civil Engagement group. I have not met the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, before. I welcome him to the House.

Currently, the capital plan equates sustainability with fiscal sustainability. The reality is that Ireland is not a profit-maximising enterprise but a society of shared lives reliant on natural ecosystems. Ecological and social sustainability must be mainstreamed across all aspects of Government policy. Our long-term prosperity, which relies on social and ecological factors, must be prioritised over short-term gain. We must rely on indicators other than GDP to reflect how well our society is prospering. These could include the sustainable development goals, the index of sustainable economic welfare and the human development index. A range of economic shifts will be required to make the transition. These include moving taxation from economic activity to pollution and resource use, decoupling economic security and full employment and ensuring the stability of the monetary and banking systems in a stable economy. This transition requires long-term thinking and a greater role for public investment to create and maintain solid, long-lasting fiscal, social and environmental assets. Investment is a fundamental aspect of the new green economy as prosperity today means little if it undermines prosperity tomorrow.

The revised capital plan is widening its analysis beyond fiscal sustainability. This can make a lasting contribution to Ireland's future by setting us on a pathway to a low-carbon economy. The capital plan should be in line with the low-carbon transition goal of 100% decarbonisation by 2050 as required by the Paris agreement. The capital plan must set out the investment required for the transition, securing the long-term cross-party investment required. One has to remember that what economists view as costs in analysing carbon abatement are for the most part investments in new capital stock. The building of that capital stock creates prosperity.

It will be impossible to meet our Paris Agreement commitments without immediate reductions in transport emissions. The target of merely holding to 2005 emissions is not enough yet we are not even achieving that. Immediate investment in walking, cycling and public transport is essential and to comply with the smarter travel goals, specific funding commitments are required, that is, at least 20% of transport funding must be allocated to walking and cycling, as recommended by the United Nations Environment Programme, and at least 50% of transport funding must be allocated to public transport.

The current capital plan essentially adopts the strategic investment framework for land transport. As identified by many of the submissions to the draft framework, its handling of climate change was inadequate. On foot of the enactment of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, continuation of the approach taken in the capital plan and the strategic investment framework on which it was based is not a lawful option. Transport investments need to be fundamentally rethought from the original plan, which prioritised investment for motor vehicles. Walking and cycling should be prioritised. The plan should provide for the full implementation of the greater Dublin area cycle network, implementation of similar cycle networks for other urban areas such as Waterford, Cork, Limerick and Galway and implementation of a nationwide greenway network such as that recently opened in Waterford.A full investment strategy is needed for the improvement and expansion of the rail network as the core of an integrated public transport network, comprising rail and bus. Investment in roads should be restricted to investments which can be demonstrated to lead to reductions rather than increases in greenhouse gas emissions. Aviation is responsible for 5% of global warming, but far from contracting as all major emissions sources must, it is one of the fastest growing sectors. It is the most carbon intensive means of travel. The European Union has included aviation in the emissions trading scheme and the International Civil Aviation Organisation is working to create an international framework for controlling emissions. Dublin Airport's expansion plans are based on predicted demand which ignores climate change. The only potential future in which the proposal for a third runway is justified is one in which no measures are taken to limit aviation emissions. If the countries of the world, including Ireland and the European Union, live up to their commitments to the Paris Agreement on climate change, the third runway will be a white elephant.

Climate change is acknowledged by the Government as the greatest national and global crisis. We must do everything in our power to recognise that in the capital plan and ensure modes of transport and every aspect of society supports the positive climate and decarbonisation method.