Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. It is clear that Ireland faces a considerable challenge to transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy by 2050. The transport sector has a critical role to play in achieving this national objective. We must develop approaches that reduce emissions and enable the sector to adapt to the impacts of climate change without impeding social progress or economic recovery. All the while, Ireland's transport sector must be able to cater for our growing national travel demand in a dynamic and responsive manner.

Our transport sector is one of the fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions, increasing by over 130% between 1990 and 2015. Ireland is not unique in this. Transport in Europe now accounts for nearly 27% of all non-emissions trading system, ETS, emissions. It has been estimated that, without intervention, transport emissions will rise by 11% between 2020 and 2035. Consequently, we must change how we travel and do business and the types of fuel and technology that we employ if we are to contribute successfully towards our decarbonisation target.

The national mitigation plan has firmly established and streamlined the Government's commitment to work towards our national decarbonisation objective. Transport will play a significant role in the national mitigation effort and has already made positive progress. Some 24 transport mitigation measures are identified in the plan. They are wide-ranging and include: sustained investment in public and sustainable transport to improve the quality and capacity of the transport network, as well as encouraging a shift away from private car use; securing an early transition to zero and low-emission vehicles through the incentivisation of alternative fuels and technologies; and a series of complementary policy and taxation measures requiring a cross-governmental and interdepartmental approach. In 2016 there were four key measures that reduced transport emissions in Ireland. The first of these was our sustained investment in the public and sustainable transport network, which led to an increase of almost 31 million journeys on subsidised public transport and commercial bus services since 2013. Second, as a result of the implementation of EU vehicle standard regulations limiting tail pipe emissions, new cars entering the fleet are now approximately 25% more energy-efficient than they were in 2007. Furthermore, the redesign of the vehicle registration tax, VRT, and motor tax regimes in 2008, which was based on carbon dioxide emissions rather than engine size, had a very positive effect on changing buyer behaviour and encouraging the take-up of low-emission vehicles. Older and more polluting models now represent just 4% of all vehicle purchases. Finally, the introduction of a biofuel obligation scheme, to incorporate sustainable fuel into our conventional fuel mix, has substantially decreased transport emissions. In 2015 alone, this biofuel measure reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 356 km.

Encouraging the use of public transport is central to our national efforts to combat climate change, air pollution and other negative environmental and social impacts. However, we are still highly dependent on the private car. Some 74% of our journeys are taken by car, equating to over half of our transport emissions. We need to provide a realistic and sustainable alternative to reduce this dominance. With this objective in mind, I remain strongly committed to meeting increasing travel demand through more public transport capacity, and support for cycling and walking. In Dublin alone, over 69% of all journeys into the city centre are now made on foot or by bicycle, representing an increase of over 10% in the last six years. In budget 2018, I secured over €100 million in multi-annual cycling and walking programmes, as well as a 275% increase in capital investment in public transport infrastructure over the next four years, amounting to a spend of over €2.7 billion.

It is also vital that we meet our growing transport demand with green public transport alternatives. Our national mitigation plan commits us to utilising the newly established green public transport fund to support low emission vehicles in the bus and taxi sector. In that regard, I was pleased to announce that I have secured additional funding in budget 2018 to assist this objective, starting with support for taxi operators to make the switch to electric vehicles from early 2018. The National Transport Authority, NTA, anticipate purchasing low-emitting buses next year as part of the Bus Connects programme. By 2023, some 500 buses should be converted to low-emission vehicles.

The use of alternative fuels and technologies is key to reducing emissions within the transport sector, and offers one of the most cost-effective and feasible pathways to meeting our carbon mitigation and pollution objectives. This is particularly important outside urban areas, where dependence on private cars is strongest, and where public transport systems and active travel offer less potential for effectively addressing travel needs.

To ready Ireland for the transition away from conventional fuels, and to enable seamless adaptation to this developing and expanding market, I published Ireland's national policy framework on alternative fuels infrastructure for transport earlier this year. A cornerstone of this is our ambition that by 2030 all new cars and vans sold in Ireland will be zero-emissions capable. Furthermore, to accelerate our transition to alternatively-fuelled vehicles, my Department continues to work closely with that of the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, as co-chairs of the low emission vehicle task force. The task force has presented early findings and recommendations to the Government, which resulted in a number of additional electric vehicle, EV, incentives being introduced from 2018. These included toll reductions for EVs, 0% benefit-in-kind, BIK, treatment for battery electric vehicles, and additional funding to maintain and improve our EV recharging network. Further incentives for the early adoption of low-emission vehicle, LEV, technology fuelled by gas and hydrogen will continue to be considered by this task force throughout 2018.

As well as the measures in place to reduce transport emissions in line with our EU and international obligations, we also face the challenge of building climate resilience within the transport sector. Even if greenhouse gas emissions were to completely stop from today, global climate change would continue for many decades as a result of past emissions. The rise in extreme weather events that Ireland has experienced this year, such as the severe flooding in Donegal last August and, more recently, Storm Ophelia, indicate that Ireland's climate is indeed changing and will continue to change in the years to come. This poses two challenges; the task of ensuring continued services and maintaining infrastructure, for roads, rail, aviation, ports and buses under sometimes very difficult weather conditions; and the need to protect new assets by ensuring that today's design specifications will adequately address tomorrow's infrastructure needs. I am therefore delighted to announce that today I have published my Department's first climate change adaptation plan, entitled Developing Resilience to Climate Change in the Irish Transport Sector. The plan outlines climate research and analysis on the likely impacts of climate change, including more frequent storm events, rising sea levels and increased incidents of flooding. The plan also highlights the positive ongoing work in climate change adaptation within the transport sector and other sectors, for example, the development of the strategy for adapting to climate change for national roads and light rail by our colleagues in Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII.

Of course, this plan is not a complete roadmap towards climate resilience, but rather the first step on Ireland's journey towards safeguarding the transport sector from the environmental, economic and social impacts of climate change. My Department will continue to support our front-line actors, the transport agencies and local authorities, to identify potential vulnerabilities within their operations and to consider how these can be addressed. Given the expected increase in transport demand and the investment we will be making to add capacity, it is of particular importance that the need for adaptation and mitigation is mainstreamed into future policy, not least in the development of the national planning framework, to ensure the long-term sustainability of the transport sector. Of course, my Department will participate fully with the national dialogue on climate change, addressing both mitigation and adaptation challenges.

It is clear that adapting to climate change will be an ongoing process. A statutory national adaptation framework is being developed under the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Act 2015, and will be submitted to Government by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, for approval before the end of 2017. Following approval of the framework by Government, work in my Department will be focused on the preparation of a statutory adaptation plan for the transport sector, in order to put in place a suite of measures to limit the potential damage of climate change. Equally, the mitigation measures that I have outlined will develop and progress in the years to come, particularly as new technologies come into play. For instance, hydrogen power may yet play a significant role in helping achieve our 2050 objective. The national mitigation plan will be continually updated as research, policy and innovations generate additional cost-effective options.

Through continued close co-operation between my Department and other key Departments, principally the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, the Department of Finance and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, the transport sector is developing a strong approach to ensuring greenhouse gas emission mitigation, as well as measures to adapt to the impacts of climate change. With the right approach, I am confident that the transport sector can and will remain a key player in supporting the Irish economy and society in the future.